Pumpkin Casserole with Minced Meat and Tomatoes

A tasty pumpkin casserole doesn’t have to be sweet. Baked pumpkin with ground beef, tomatoes, onions, and cheese is a great confirmation of this. Minced meat is pre-fried with onions and tomatoes for flavor. Then everything is connected to the pumpkin and all that remains is to wait until the dish comes in the oven. The pumpkin turns out to be very soft, juicy, saturated with aromas and juices of tomatoes and minced meat.

Cook: 1 hour 25 minutes

Servings: 6

Ingredients

• Pumpkin (peeled) – 300 g
• Minced meat (beef) – 350 g
• Tomatoes – 300 g (3 pcs.)
• Onions – 100 g
• Hard cheese – 70 g
• Salt – 1 teaspoon + a pinch
• Ground black pepper – a pinch (to taste)
• Vegetable oil – 2 tbsp + for greasing the mold
• Fresh parsley (for serving) – 2-3 sprigs

Directions

1. Prepare the food you need. Any mince can be used, I have beef. Peel the pumpkin and seeds, peel the onion. Wash the pumpkin, onion, and tomatoes.

   

2. Make a cross-cut on the tomatoes and place them in a bowl of boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Then drain and remove the skins from the tomatoes.
3. Cut the peeled tomatoes into small pieces. Heat a skillet with vegetable oil and add the minced meat.
4. Fry the minced meat over medium heat for 5-6 minutes, stirring and breaking the lumps. Turn on the oven to heat up to 180 degrees. Finely chop the onion.
5. Add the onion to the minced meat, stir and fry for 3-4 minutes. Then add the chopped tomatoes to the minced meat. Stir the contents of the pan.
6. Fry minced meat with tomatoes for 3-5 minutes. Season with salt (1 teaspoon) and sprinkle with black pepper. Cut the pumpkin into small pieces with a side of about 1.5 cm.

   

7. A baking dish (I have a square ceramic dish with a side of 20 cm) lightly grease with vegetable oil and layout the chopped pumpkin. Season with 1 pinch of salt.
8. Put the fried minced meat with tomatoes on the pumpkin, flatten and send to the oven preheated to 180 degrees for 30-40 minutes. If you have minced chicken, then 20-35 minutes will be enough.
9. After 20-30 minutes, if the minced meat will burn, you can cover the form with foil. Grate the cheese on a medium grater.
10. After the indicated time, remove the dish from the oven and sprinkle the cheese over the casserole. Return the mold to the oven for 10 minutes. Do not cover with foil.
11. Pumpkin casserole with minced meat and tomatoes is ready. Serve hot pumpkin casserole with minced meat and tomatoes right to the table, garnish with a sprig of parsley or other herbs. Soft minced meat with melted cheese and incredibly tender pumpkin – this casserole, no doubt, will appeal not only to pumpkin lovers.

    

Bon Appetit!