Questions about pumpkin

[BLeedINGandLovingit]

Being a butternut person, I've never actually cooked pumpkin. But I saw a recommendation on the bbc website to bake pumpkin and then stuff it with spices and rice which I thought would be delicious, and right up DH's street. And then at the market I bought a lovely looking little round pumpkin about the size of a large man's head...

But now I'm hearing that lovely little round pumpkins aren't in fact nice but are only good for hallowean decorations? Is that true?

Also, if I want to bake it, I was think of cutting off the top, scooping out the seeds, rubbing some olive oil and maybe a few spices, putting the lid back on and then baking it. Would this work? And how long would I need to bake it for?

No that is not true, they are lovely for eating.

Yes what you have planned will work and will be nice. Baking time depends on the size, you'd do just as well to cut it into wedges and bake it for a shorter time, save on your energy usage and taste exactly the same.

Cinnamon, paprika and chilli work really well on pumpkin.

And you can also roast the seeds, they make a lovely snack. Just clean the pulp off them, soak them in very salty watyer, drain them, layer them in a pan (one layer only) and roast in a low temp oven until they are dry and crispy. Then just munch on them! They keep for ages too in an airtight container and are full of goodness like zink and b vitamins.