This recipe is a campfire showstopper, but you can also make it in a firepit in your backyard. Use only established firepits, fire rings, or grills in areas without risk of wildfire, and take appropriate cautions when building fires at home. A cast-iron dutch oven is ideal here, but a camping saucepan would also work. The ash-charred pumpkin becomes a serving dish for the fondue.

I hit up The Mouse Hole Cheese Shop in Albuquerque to source the perfect duo of cheeses for our creation, but gruyère and emmentaler are tried-and-true choices. Grab a crusty French baguette and dig in! The best part is when the tender, sweet pumpkin flesh begins to combine with the melty cheese in each scoop. If you are lucky enough to forage chanterelle or porcini mushrooms, by all means, substitute them for the shiitakes.

Print Recipe

Coal-Roasted Pumpkin Fondue

Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 1 3- pound kabocha squash (or other small pumpkin)
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 16 ounces shiitake mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
  • 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup white wine (preferably a dry, light-bodied wine like sauvignon blanc)
  • 12 ounces cheese, grated (I used a mix of alpenhorn and gruyère cheeses)
  • Sea salt

Instructions

  • Set the pumpkin in hot coals at the base of a campfire or in a portable firepit located on a nonflammable surface at least 15 feet away from any structures or woody material. Pile up the coals around the pumpkin. Roast until tender, about 20–30 minutes. Don’t worry about the exterior char; move the pumpkin around while roasting so it cooks evenly.
  • Carefully remove the pumpkin from the coals, let it cool to the touch (10–15 minutes), then remove the top with a knife, jack-o’-lantern style, and scoop out the seeds.
  • Place the pumpkin in a small-to-medium (~2 quart) cast-iron dutch oven and return to the coals. Place the lid on and keep warm while you prepare the mushrooms.
  • Set a cast-iron skillet over low flames on a grill grate or directly on the coals. Add the butter and shiitakes. Sauté until deeply caramelized, add the garlic, and cook for a minute longer. Add a pinch of salt.
  • Remove the lid from the dutch oven. Add wine into the pumpkin, then slowly stir in cheese a handful at a time, waiting for each batch to melt before adding the next.
  • Once all the cheese has been added, top with the mushrooms and remove from the fire. Eat with spoons, scooping out chunks of soft, roasted pumpkin and melted cheese. Serve with a crusty French baguette.