As I ve mentioned this year I have a good stock of pumpkins and have prepared quite a few of pumpkin recipes. This one is inspired by my brother who made a stuffed pumpkin in a stone oven and was delicious. In Greece, we stuff peppers and tomatoes over the summer so I though why not stuff a pumpkin as well? I would strongly advise to use a small sized pumpkin though as it might take a while to bake and soften if the pumpkin is big. I stuffed my pumpkin with sultanas, cranberries, hazelnuts pumpkin seeds in a delicious orange tahini sauce and regretted not having chestnuts as these would also work really well for the stuffing. This one is a great idea for the Christmas lunch as it does make an impression on the table and works better as a sharing plate.
Ingredients (for a medium sized pumpkin)
– 1 pumpkin
For the stuffing:
-
1/3 cup quinoa cooked in 1tsp rosemary
- 3tbs sultanas
- 1tbs cranberries
- 1tbs pumpkin seeds or pine nuts
- 1 handful hazelnuts
- 3 chestnuts, diced
For the sauce:
- juice from 1/2 orange
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2tbs maple syrup
- 2tbs tahini
- 1/4tsp nutmeg
- 1/4tsp cinnamon
- 1tsp apple cider vinegar
Preparation
- Pre-heat the oven to 180c for 20mins
- Boil the quinoa in double the quantity of water and the rosemary. When the quinoa has absorbed most of the water remove from the heat and close lid for 10mins to absorb any excess water. You know its ready when it has a white circle around.
- Stir in the quinoa the rest of the stuffing ingredients and the sauce (which you have pre- mixed in a small jar).
- Empty the pumpkin from the pumpkin seeds with a table spoon and carve so that you create space for the stuffing.
- Bake on 180C preferable on a coveted tray or a tray sealed with tin foil for approx 40-240 mins (depends on the size of the pumpkin) until really soft.