Stuffed Roasted Pumpkin

This blog post has been on the way for a long time, but it took me some time to get it just right. Plus my hubby needed a little pumpkin break 😉 I love pumpkin in any shape, size, form and way of serving…… But my hubby prefers the pumpkin meat to be blended into oblivion. He has some texture issues. So after my pumpkin craze in the fall, he asked me to take a little pumpkin break 😉 Break is over – so now it is time for this beauty to be turned into a delicious stuffed roasted pumpkin.

Now lets get started. Cut of the top of the pumpkin and remove the seeds and all of the stringy parts. The thicker the remaining pumpkin walls, the longer cooking time in the oven is required. So you may want to remove part of the pumpkin meat as well (as you can see below, the walls of my pumpkin was relatively thick, it took a little less than 2 hours in the oven for it to be cooked). The cooking time also depends on the type of pumpkin. So it is important to realize that there are some variables here, that can make it a bit difficult to predict when you can serve it. Once you have removed all that needs to be removed, sprinkle the inside with salt, and set aside.

Now for the stuffing. Boil the rice according to the package, and set aside. While the rice is cooking, get going with the rest of the filling. Prep your chicken and veggies (dice the onion, quarter the zucchini and then slice it thinly, and clean flower sprouts). First the chicken. Place a peace of baking paper on a big cutting board, sprinkle with salt a paprika on half of the baking paper. Lay the chicken on top of the spices, then sprinkle with a bit more salt and paprika. So that both sides of the chicken is covered with spices. Fold the other half of the paper over the chicken, and give it a go beating with a rolling pin. This part is great for getting rid of some locked up frustration, or putting on a show for the kids. My youngest finds it ridiculously funny when mommy is beating the chicken 😉 You want them to be about half the thickness as before you starting beating them (about 1.5 cm, is the thickness you are going for). After this they look a bit messed up but I promise you you will be happy you didn’t skip this step. You end up with some really juicy and tasty meat. Heat up a cooking pan with a bout a tsp of oil. Put the chicken into the frying pan and cook them until they are golden and cooked through, turning after 3 or 4 minutes.

Once the chicken is done, remove it from the pan, and let it rest for a bit before slicing it up. Add the diced onion and zucchini to the pan with out any additional oil. Keep stirring occasionally, until the onions gets clear. Then add  ½ cup of water and the sage (thinly sliced) and let the veggies cook in the liquid until all the liquid has been absorbed. Remove from the pan and set aside together with the chicken. Add another tsp of oil to the pan and add the flower sprouts (also known as kalettes). Cook until they are barely wilted, and the color is really bright, about 2 minutes. Season with a bit of salt. And add them to the bowl with the chicken and veggies. Flower sprouts or kalettes is a cross between Brussels sprouts and kale, they are somewhat less bitter in taste than Brussels sprouts, and are in my opinion really cute. If you can’t find them in your local supermarket, you can replace them with normal Brussels sprouts, kale, or cavolo nero.

Cut up the dried apricots into small cubes and add to the bowl of stuffing. It is important that you use unsulphured dried apricots, they are in general better tolerated that the bright orange sulphured kind. If you don’t tolerate any type of dried apricots, then replace by something else like other dried fruit/berries or fresh fruit like grape or apple.

Give it all a good toss, and then get stuffing. Once stuffed, put the pumpkin lid back on and place the stuffed pumpkin in an oven dish. Roast the pumpkin in the oven at 230 °C for 30 minutes, and then turn down the heat to 200 °C for the remaining cooking time. Serve it hot by either scooping out the filling along with part of the pumpkin walls, or slice pieces of the pumpkin and add stuffing to the top of the piece of pumpkin. Enjoy together with a simple green salad.

Stuffed Roasted Pumpkin

• Author: Tania Surrow Larsen, The Histamine Friendly Kitchen
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hour 30 mins
• Total Time: 2 hours
• Yield: 4 1x

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Ingredients

• 1 big pumpkin (I used a Crown of grey, but in hindsight it might not be the best type for this dish)
• 300 g Chicken
• 1 medium white onion
• 1/2 zucchini
• 1 cup water
• 75–100 g flower sprouts/Kalettes
• 100 g whole grain rice
• 75 g dried apricots (unsulphured)
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tbsp fresh sage (tsp if using dried)
• Salt to taste
• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

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Instructions

1. Cut of the top of the pumpkin and remove the seeds and all of the stringy parts. Remember that the thicker the remaining pumpkin walls, the longer cooking time in the oven is required. So you may want to remove part of the pumpkin meat as well. Once you have removed all that needs to be removed, sprinkle the inside with salt, and set aside.
2. Boil the rice according to the package, and set aside.
3. Prep your chicken and veggies, dice the onions, cut up the zucchini in quarters and slice them thinly, and clean the flower sprouts.
4. For the chicken, place a peace of baking paper on a big cutting board, sprinkle with salt a paprika on half of the baking paper. Lay the chicken on top of the spices, then sprinkle with a bit more salt and paprika. So that both sides of the chicken is covered with spices. Fold the other half of the paper over the chicken, and give it a go beating with a rolling pin. You want them to be about half the thickness as before you starting beating them (about 1.5 cm, is the thickness you are going for).Don’t skip this step, you end up with some really juicy and tasty meat.
5. Heat up a cooking pan with a bout a tsp of oil. Put the chicken into the frying pan and cook them until they are golden and cooked through, turning after 3 or 4 minutes.
6. Once the chicken is done, remove it from the pan, and let it rest for a bit before slicing it up.
7. Add the diced onion and zucchini to the pan with out any additional oil. Keep stirring occasionally, until the onions gets clear. Then add ½ cup of water and the sage and let the veggies cook in the liquid until all the liquid has been absorbed. Remove from the pan and set aside together with the chicken.
8. Add another tsp of oil to the pan and add the flower sprouts/kalettes. Cook until they are barely wilted, and the color is really bright, about 2 minutes. Season with a bit of salt. And add them to the bowl with the chicken and veggies.
9. Cut up the dried apricots into small cubes and add to the bowl of stuffing.
10. Give it all a good toss, and then get stuffing. Once stuffed, put the pumpkin lid back on and place the stuffed pumpkin in an oven dish.
11. Roast the pumpkin in the oven at 230 °C for 30 minutes, and then turn down the heat to 200 °C for the remaining cooking time. Serve it hot by either scooping out the filling along with part of the pumpkin walls, or slice pieces of the pumpkin and add stuffing to the top of the piece of pumpkin. Enjoy together with a simple green salad. (the nutritional data is calculated on 1 of 4 servings, no salad added)