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I got orzon rice from Greece and I’m experimenting with vegetarian orzon rice recipes. I really believe it’s the ultimate Greek comfort food. Especially the giouvetsi! Its taste makes me nostalgic of Sunday family meals and “mummy” food. My own version of giouvetsi has pumpkin instead of pork and the sauce also contains a spoonful of turmeric just because I love it. The way of cooking is still the same: I boil the orzon rice first, and then bake it with the sauce and pumpkin until it gets crusty. If you have a clay pot then you’re very lucky, because it will cook even nicer. If not, cover with an aluminium foil which you remove at the end. The taste is remarkable! The slow baked pumpkin with cinnamon and nutmeg is simply amazing, you won’t even miss the meat. It’s a very nice vegetarian dish for a Sunday meal with friends and is cooked relatively quickly.
Ingredients (for 4 people)
1 small yellow pumpkin, cut into slices or cubes
1 cup of orzon rice
1 dry onion
3 ripe tomatoes or a tomato paste
1 cup boiled chickpeas
1 spoon of turmeric
1 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of nutmeg
3 spoons of olive oil
Preparation
Boil the orzon eice for about 10 minutes so it needs less time in the oven. Cut the pumpkin into slices or large cubes and preheat the oven at 180 degrees.
Blend the onion and add the fresh tomatoes if you don’t have a ready tomato paste, and add spices, salt and pepper.
Once the rice is boiled, strain it and put it in the clay pot or in a large pot. Add the pumpkin and tomato sauce altogether with 1 glass of water and oil.
Cover (if baking on a tray, cover with aluminium foil) and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. In the last 5 minutes, uncover the tray so that the food gets slightly roasted and the water evaporates. When the orzon rice has absorbed all the water and has been turned brown, it’s ready to eat.