Roasted Stuffed Pumpkin

Name: Roasted Stuffed Pumpkin
Total time: 2 h
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Ingredients: 1 6 1/2- to 7-pound sugar pumpkin, or other pumpkin suitable for eating; 1 tablespoon vegetable oil; 1 onion, finely chopped; 3 cloves garlic, 2 minced, 1 halved; 1 cup dried cranberries; 1 teaspoon ground ginger; 1 teaspoon allspice; 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads; Finely grated zest of half an orange; 2 cups basmati rice; 4 cups vegetable stock; Salt

By Nigella Lawson

Total Time: 2 hours
Rating: 4(104)
Comments: Read comments

The quantity of rice specified in the recipe is what I needed for the pumpkin I stipulate, but I should say two things here. One is that you might not find (or want) a pumpkin of exactly the same weight. The other is that different pumpkins have different-size cavities. The easiest way to find out how much rice you need is as follows:

When you have cut the top off and scraped out the seeds, take a plastic freezer bag and line the cavity with it. Pour rice into the bag to about halfway up the cavity, then pour out the rice into a measuring cup. Double the measurement to determine how much stock or water to cook the rice in. The plastic liner is not a hygiene thing: it is just that if you don't use it, you will spend ages scraping out the rice. I know whereof I speak.

Featured in: AT MY TABLE; A Lot Tastier Than a Jack-o'-Lantern

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Ingredients

Yield:8 to 10 servings

16½- to 7-pound sugar pumpkin, or other pumpkin suitable for eating
1tablespoon vegetable oil
1onion, finely chopped
3cloves garlic, 2 minced, 1 halved
1cup dried cranberries
1teaspoon ground ginger
1teaspoon allspice
¼teaspoon saffron threads
Finely grated zest of half an orange
2cups basmati rice
4cups vegetable stock
Salt

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Fill a kettle with water, and bring to a boil. About an inch below the top of the pumpkin's ''shoulders,'' about where it would be cut to carve a jack-o'-lantern, slice a lid from top of pumpkin, and set it aside. Remove seeds and fibrous flesh from inside.
Step 2
In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, heat the oil, and sauté the onion until it is softened. Add 2 minced garlic cloves, and sauté for 30 seconds. Stir in the cranberries, ginger, allspice, saffron and orange zest. Add the rice, and stir until it is glossy. Pour in stock, and bring to a boil. Cover, and reduce heat as low as possible. Cook for 15 minutes. Meanwhile rub the inside of pumpkin with cut garlic clove, and rub with some salt to taste.
Step 3
When rice has cooked for 15 minutes, it will be damp and not very fluffy. Adjust seasoning to taste, and spoon into pumpkin cavity. Press lid firmly on top. It may sit above stuffing a bit like a jaunty cork. Wrap bottom two to three inches of pumpkin in a double layer of foil to protect it from contact with water during baking. Place in a roasting pan, and add about 1 inch of boiling water to pan.
Step 4
Bake the pumpkin until it is tender when pierced with a knife, about 1½ hours. (If there is resistance when pumpkin is pierced, allow more baking time.) To serve, remove pumpkin from pan, and allow it to rest for about 10 minutes. Discard foil, and place pumpkin on a serving platter. Slice into segments like a cake. Place a wedge of pumpkin on each serving plate, and mound with rice stuffing.

Ratings

4 out of 5

104 user ratings

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Comments

Karen7 years ago

I made this with a 7-lb sugar pie pumpkin and added about 1/2 cup shiitake mushrooms to the stuffing. Three cups of rice was a little too much. After 1 hr, I could pierce the pumpkin with a knife, but the rice was not fully cooked. I should have baked it longer. Still, it looked impressive and tasted pretty good.

Lisa5 years ago

Made this with three acorn squash. Leveled off ~ 1 inch of the squash so it would sit flat. Ended up using 1.5 cups rice and 3.5 cups stock. this left about 1.5 extra cups of filling which I saved for leftovers. It was EXCELLENT. After the 10 minute rest they sliced in half beautiful and made for a lovely presentation. Will cook again. May try adding toasted hazelnuts or pistachios.

Lisa2 years ago

This sounded really good, and the filling was good and aromatic, but the pumpkin didn’t add too it. I would maybe try cooking the rice more so that I could stuff something smaller like a delicata and have the shorter cooking time work.

dee from New Orleans3 years ago

If you want to make a piece de resistance (add accents) I would recommend this. Between Halloween and Thanksgiving there are many cast off pumpkins for the taking. This is not a difficult recipe and next time I will ramp up the spices and not add as much liquid to the rice. Under it’s lid the rice got a bit on the sticky side, unlike the picture of fluffy, nicely colored rice. The saffron disappeared with no overall flavor to add. So, give it a try!

Amy4 years ago

I made this for a vegetarian Thanksgiving. Presentation at the table was over the top. And it was delicious!!

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