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Roasted Pumpkin with Mulled Sorghum Glaze from The Southern Foodie

Roasted Pumpkin with Mulled Sorghum Glaze

We’ve officially been Southerners for 5 1/2 years now (holy crap has it been that long?) and I am still slowly earning by Southern credentials. So far I’ve mastered the art of grits and buttermilk biscuits, although my fried chicken still needs work.

Thanks to a new book by local Nashville foodie Chris Chamberlain, I can continue to hone my down-home know-how with delicious results.

The Southern Foodie is Chris’ compilation of 134 recipes from 100 of the South’s best restaurants and eateries. Subtitled “100 Places to Eat in the South Before You Die (and the Recipes That Made Them Famous),” the book is a mouthwatering collection of southern fare: both traditional and groundbreaking. It serves as both a cookbook and a travel guide in one (and be sure to click through to the end of this post for your chance to win a copy!)

Roasted Pumpkin with Mulled Sorghum Glaze

Although I’ve got nearly a dozen recipes in this booked marked as MAKE IMMEDIATELY, this roasted pumpkin recipe seemed like a logical starting point given the season and the fact that I had two beautiful heirloom pumpkins sitting on the hutch from our CSA.

(A side note: this recipe comes from the Capitol Grille, a Nashville gem located inside the Hermitage Hotel. Recognize the name? Maybe because my last decadent recipe was also inspired by a CG dish. Perhaps I need to get my butt down there sooner rather than later, eh?)

For those outside of the Southeast, sweet sorghum syrup is syrup made from sorghum cane, a grass in the same family as sugar cane. It is sweet with a complex, molasses-like flavor. If you can’t find sorghum where you are, a mild molasses would be a good substitute in this recipe.

I could see this recipe elevating the side dishes on your Thanksgiving table to epic new levels. We topped this vegetarian side with a leg of duck we had leftover in the freezer (I try to ignore the fact that the cat got to eat the other leg during one of his many homemade food trials). Simply browned in a skillet and baked at 325 for about 90 minutes, the leg was tender and savory and was a perfect compliment to the sweet and sticky pumpkin.

Roasted Pumpkin with Mulled Sorghum Glaze

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Ingredients:

1 (5 pound) North Georgia Candy pumpkin or any good roasting pumpkin
10 medium pearl onions, peeled
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
salt and white pepper

For Glaze:
1/2 cup sorghum syrup*
1/4 cup mulled cider
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed

2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
salt and white pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Remove the seeds and pulp from the pumpkin. Cut the flesh from half of the pumpkin into 1/2-inch cubes; you should have about 2 cups. In a large bowl, toss the pumpkin with the pearl onions, butter, salt, and pepper. Place in a roasting pan and roast in the oven until caramelized and tender yet firm, no more than 25 to 30 minutes. It is important to keep an eye on the pumpkin as it roasts, as it will go from firm to too soft quickly. You want the pumpkin to begin to caramelize but not to overcook.

To make the sorghum glaze, combine the sorghum syrup and cider in a small saucepan over medium heat and reduce by half. Fold in the butter.

Toss the pumpkin with half of the sorghum glaze and chopped sage. Return to the oven and reheat. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Top with additional sorghum glaze as desired.

Recipe from The Southern Foodie: 100 Places to Eat in the South Before You Die

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154 Comments

  1. I like “Southern Foodie” on Facebook

  2. Too many fabulous Southern foods to pick just one! I love collard greens with pepper sauce and cornbread for soaking up the potlikker. An cornbread… that’s a debate in and of itself. I personally can appreciate both sweet and no-sugar variations.

  3. My favorite Southern dish is definitely shrimp & grits. You can make it so many different ways, and I think they are all delicious. I am originally from PA and swear by Southern food now that I’ve been down here for 7 years!

  4. I love cheese grits!

  5. My favorite southern food is jambalaya!! And I’ve trained my Canadian husband to love it, as well!

  6. i find that (most of the time) you can’t go wrong with shrimp & grits…yummm!

  7. Like you on FB.

  8. Black Eyed Peas! Or, Hoppin’ John if it’s New Years!

  9. I just got back from the farmers’ market and got myself one awesome pumpkin. I’m gonna immediately try your recipe!

  10. That pumpkin looks great! I love hush puppies, and they are always my downfall when I am in the south. But the embarrassing thing is that I have never made my own fried chicken, and feel like this is a glaring omission in my cooking life!

  11. Shrimp and grits! I also LOVE cornbread, but I typically like it moist and cakey which is generally not what traditional southern cornbread is like. I just discovered pimento cheese too…YUM!

  12. My favorite southern inspired dish is shrimp and grits!

  13. And now I also like The Southern Foodie on facebook!

  14. I like you on facebook!

  15. I folow you on twitter and I tweeted!

  16. My favorite favorite favorite Southern meal is barbecue – specifically a pulled pork sandwich. If I could have some hushpuppies and fried green tomatoes on the side, I would be a happy camper. :)

  17. I really love macaroni and cheese, which I know isn’t strictly southern, but they sure do it well down there!

  18. I have never tried grits. I have no idea why, but that is DEFINITELY a Southern food I’d love to try!

  19. So many to choose from! I’ve loved the fried green tomato variations I’ve made, but have not yet been brave enough to attempt the fried chicken and waffles- which is probably a good thing, as I would be addicted! I also like L&OO on FB (of course). :-)

  20. Born and raised in the South, I loooove Southern comfort food. But I have to say, my favourite Southern dish is cheese and grits. Soo good.

  21. I liked Southern Foodie on FB!

  22. I followed you on Twitter and tweeted!

  23. I liked you on FB!

  24. Still trying to perfect my Fried Okra and Chicken Fried Steak… MmmMMMmmmm….

  25. I LOVE shrimp and grits but I have never made it!

  26. I have many favorite southern dishes, since one entire side of my family is from the south. But my ultimate is biscuits and gravy. I could eat them at every meal. My great aunt made the best biscuits and chocolate gravy. My mom’s is pretty darn good too. Thanks for the giveaway. Sounds like a fantastic book.

  27. I FB Like you

  28. favorite Southern-inspired dish would be bananas foster a la Brennan’s restaurant/New Orleans!

  29. My fav southern inspired dish is collard greens with bacon. Yum!

  30. I’d love to master fried chicken. Just wish I wasn’t so wary of all that hot oil!

  31. This looks delicious!

    My favorite Southern-inspired meal is fried green tomatoes in a cornmeal dredge. Sooooooo good and tangy!

  32. I already follow L&OO on Facebook.

  33. I liked The Southern Foodie on Facebook

  34. I liked Love & Olive Oil on Facebook.

  35. This pumpkin looks scrumptious- crossing my fingers that I get a pumpkin in my CSA box too! My southern fave is chicken sauce piquant, but I’d love to perfect New Orleans style BBQ shrimp.

  36. My favorite Southern dish has to be fried okra. I love that stuff.

  37. I liked The Southern Foodie on FB.

  38. Also, I already follow Love and Olive Oil on FB!

  39. I feel like I’ve perfected fried chicken and now am planning to set my sights on light, fluffy buttermilk biscuits. So far, mine have been kind of like hockey pucks, so I need some help! :)

  40. Shrimp & grits has to be my favorite southern dish.

  41. i like shrimp and grits :)

  42. I like Love and Olive Oil on Facebook.

  43. My favorite southern dish is gumbo!

  44. I like The Southern Foodie on Facebook.

  45. I like Love and Olive Oil on Facebook.

  46. I like ham and beans.

  47. I don’t have FB but I would like both of you if I could. Does that count?

  48. I tweeted and already follow her!

  49. I know this is weird, but I want to try collard greens. I know I wouldn’t be able to make them they way they should be so I want to know the traditional way and find out why they are so good.

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