Ingredients
- 3.5 pounds (1.5 kg) sugar pumpkin (also called pie pumpkin)
- 5 tablespoons (75 grams) unsalted butter, divided
- 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 cup (190 grams) basmati rice, rinsed (or other long-grain white rice)
- ⅓ cup (50 grams) golden raisins
- ⅓ cup (60 grams) dried cherries
- ½ cup (50 grams) walnuts, chopped
- ¾ teaspoon paprika
- ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup (60 ml) vegetable broth
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Prepare the pumpkin. Cut the top off the pumpkin, reserving the lid. Scoop out and discard the seeds, strings and pulp (or save the seeds for roasting).
- Melt 1 tablespoon (15 g) of butter and mix it with the honey (or maple syrup) and a pinch of salt. Brush the inside of the pumpkin with the honey butter.
- Partially cook the rice. Place the rice and 4 cups (1 liter) of water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, cook for one minute and then remove from heat. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes. Drain and transfer to a mixing bowl.
- Melt 1 tablespoon (15 g) of butter in the saucepan and add the onions. Cook for five minutes or until tender.
- Add the onions to the rice. Stir in the raisins, dried cherries, chopped walnuts, paprika, cumin, allspice and salt.
- Cut the remaining 3 tablespoons (45 g) of butter into cubes and stir into the rice (if the rice mixture isn’t warm enough to melt the butter you can soften it first).
- Place the pumpkin on a pan. Spoon the rice mixture into the pumpkin and pour the vegetable broth over the top. Place the lid on top.
- Bake for 1 hour or until the pumpkin is tender when pierced. Bake for an additional 15 minutes if necessary. If the pumpkin stem is getting too dark, consider placing a piece of foil over the stem to prevent burning.
- Let the pumpkin sit for 10 minutes, then remove the lid and slice the pumpkin into wedges to serve.
Notes
Storage: To store leftovers, refrigerate the stuffed pumpkin in an airtight container for up to 3 days. To reheat, cover with foil and bake at 350°F (180°C) for approximately 30 minutes or until warmed through.