Whole Stuffed kumara with bacon and brocolli

This is a delicious complete dinner using large kumara. It utilises the whole kumara, cleverly using the shell of the kumara as an edible 'bowl'. Full of nutrition, super tasty and very filling. Two servings will have red shells with orange filling and the cross section of these look amazing. Much more exciting than stuffed potatoes!

Ingredients

2 large	Red kumara, each about 600g (Main)
2 large	Orange kumara, each about 600g (Main)
8 rashers	Smokey bacon, cooked and chopped
1 small	Red onion, finely diced
½ head	Broccoli, steamed
50 g	Butter
¾ cup	Tasty cheese, grated
1 cup	Milk
3 sprigs	Fresh parsley, chopped
4 sprinkles	Sweet smoked paprika
1 dash	Salt, to taste
1 dash	Ground black pepper, to taste
100 ml	Milk, if needed
4 sprays	Oil spray, as needed
1 pot	Sour cream

Topping

¾ cup

Tasty cheese, grated

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.
2. Gently scrub the kumara and pierce all over with a fork. Microwave on a plate for 30 minutes. Check the orange kumara to see if they feel soft enough to scoop out the flesh. If they are, remove these and continue microwaving the red kumara. Continue microwaving the kumara 5 minutes at a time until they feel soft. The larger the kumara, the longer it will take. BEWARE: orange kumara softens faster so do not overcook these or they become to mushy and the shell won't keep it's shape.
3. While the kumara is microwaving, fry the bacon, chop when cool and set aside
4. Once the kumara is all cooked, let them cool on a baking tray. Cut the brocolli into florets and microwave in a dish with water for 5 minutes. Remove, drain water and let cool then chop into smaller but still chunky pieces.
5. When the kumara have cooled enough to handle, cut the tops off (about 1cm thick) and scoop out the flesh from the entire kumara into a large bowl. Be careful not to break the shell of the kumara. Mash with the butter, the grated cheese, paprika, parsley and milk. Add the chopped bacon and chopped brocolli and finely diced red onion. Add salt and pepper according to taste. It may be necessary to add more milk to ensure the mixture is quite moist (but not sloppy). A moist creamy mixture is much nicer than a dry mixture.
6. Fill the kumara shells with the mixture. Pile it high and then sprinkle with the second portion of grated cheese. Spray all over with cooking spray and then bake until the cheese is golden. Serve with sour cream.