Whole Pumpkin Stuffed with Jewelled Rice

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22 Nov 2022

55 Minutes | easy | Serves 4

This stuffed pumpkin makes an amazing centrepiece for a festive table and is so simple to put together. Try to find a nice evenly round pumpkin if you can, but it’s OK if it looks rustic – it’s a rustic dish! The pumpkin will turn quite dark on the outside but that’s fine, it will be soft and cooked through under the skin.

Ingredients

1 pumpkin
Oil, for cooking
A knob of butter
120g wild rice
240ml water
1 onion, finely sliced
3 cloves garlic, grated to a paste
2 cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick
6 dried apricots, diced
50g pomegranate seeds
1 handful parsley leaves, chopped

Directions

Preheat 2 gas burners

Preheat 2 gas burners on the Jupiter Outback BBQ and set the heat to medium – you’re looking for a temperature of 180C.

Cut the top off the pumpkin, then scoop out seeds, rub with oil place on a baking tray and roast (with the lid down) for 45 minutes, with the lid on side.

Heat a dash of oil

Heat a dash of oil in a frying pan and add the sliced onion with a pinch of salt. Cook for 40 minutes or so, until the onion is deeply caramelised, making sure to stir often.

Add a knob of butter

Add a knob of butter to a saucepan and place over medium heat, then add the garlic, cardamom pod and cinnamon stick followed by the rice, water and a pinch of salt. Cook rice to packet instructions then set aside.

Combine the cooked rice

Combine the cooked rice with half the onions, the apricots, half the pomegranate seeds and the parsley. Season with a pinch more salt and some pepper.

Once the pumpkin is cooked

Once the pumpkin is cooked, carefully spoon any liquid out of the base. Fill with the rice, put the lid on and return to the BBQ for 5-10 minutes, or until piping hot.

Serve

Serve garnished with the remaining onions and pomegranate seeds.

This is lovely served in wedges – cut the pumpkin as you would a cake. It works well with a dish of seasonal greens on the side, such as chard, and a bowl of natural yoghurt.

Recipe Author

Helen Graves

Helen Graves is an award-winning recipe, food and travel writer with a particular interest in barbecue. She writes freelance for many major food and drink publications and is editor of Pit, the UK's first independent magazine about live-fire cooking. Helen has created a series of exclusive recipes for Outback that focus on maximising flavour for the home cook using lots of spices, fresh herbs and BBQ technique

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