Flag Carrier and Junior Council Explorer-In-Residence Sophie Hollingsworth is an award-winning Explorer. You also might say that she’s Indiana-Jones-Meets-Martha-Stewart. Her adventure cooking Her outdoor adventure cooking is not only daring and delicious, but absolutely gorgeous.

Hollingsworth says, “Cooking in the outdoors evokes a sense of liberation in an age where delivery is at our fingertips and there is a normalized a disconnection between food, the ecosystem, and ourselves.Outdoor cooking is a complete sensory experience – there is nothing like the crackle of wood burning, the warmth of the flames, the smoky scent, and the mesmerizing visual display.”

In celebration of American Thanksgiving where millions will be gathering around the dinner table with loved ones and giving thanks for nature's bounty, Sophie's shared her recipe for fire-roasted pumpkin with lemon tahini dressing with us!

As Sophie, says, “nothing tastes as good as food cooked over the fire, not to mention the magic that lights up people’s faces when they partake in an outdoor cooking experience.”

We hope you're inspired by her to get outdoors this holiday and try something unexpected. Check out the recipe below, and check out Sophie’s blog for more amazing recipes and adventures.

Enjoy!

Sophie Hollingsworth’s Smashed Pumpkin with Lemon Tahini Dressing

INGREDIENTS
Pumpkins
handful of fresh herbs and/or micro-greens
½ c tahini
⅔ to ¾ cups of water
juice of 1 lemon
2 garlic cloves minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
Freshly Ground Salt + Pepper to taste

Tools
Shovel
Pocket Knife

DIRECTIONS
1.) Light your fire and let it burn down until you obtain a medium heat. Once you have hot coals, place the pumpkin directly amongst the coals, and shovel some coals on top of them.

2.) Cook your pumpkin for roughly 3 - 4 hours. Routinely turn the pumpkin as to ensure the heat is equally distributed. Cooking times vary depending on size of pumpkins and heat of the coals: it should take approximately 30 minutes for each pound of pumpkin.

3.) While the pumpkin is cooking, enjoy a drink and prepare the dressing. Stir together the tahini, lemon juice, and olive oil. Beginning with ⅔ cup of water, gradually add more to reach the desired consistency. Makes 1 ⅓ c of dressing.

4.) When the pumpkin is thoroughly soft and the exterior is charred, prepare a surface for smashing. You can be creative here: potential surfaces for smashing include a tree stump, a split log, a cutting board, or the side of a cliff.

5.) Use the shovel to move the pumpkin from the coals to the smashing surface. When ready for the big reveal, smash the pumpkin in one fell swoop, to reveal the bright orange delicacy beneath the char. You will immediately know the pumpkin is undercooked if you cannot easily smash it with the back end of a shovel, in which case put the pumpkin back on the fire.

6.) With a knife discard the top char and dress the pumpkin with the lemon tahini dressing. Sprinkle with herbs, and salt and pepper to taste.