Pumpkin Stuffed with Sweet Pilaf

⏳ Time

30 minutes

🥕 Ingredients

🍽️ Servings

Description

A festive version of pilaf that contains no meat, but is packed with raisins, pine nuts, and pieces of apple. The pumpkin serves not only as a baking vessel in the oven but also as an important ingredient—without its flesh and garlic, the flavor of the rice would be too dessert-like. This recipe is more Azerbaijani, but pilaf is prepared throughout the Caucasus. It is one of those dishes that adorns the table but requires quite a bit of effort.

Ingredients

Pumpkin - 4 lbs
Boiled White Round Rice - 1 glass
Butter - 2.5 oz
Raisins - 6.7 oz
Pistachios - 2.5 oz
Sugar - 1 tablespoon
Apple - 1 piece
Ground Cinnamon - 1 tablespoon
Salt - to taste
Garlic - 1 head

Step by Step guide

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 392°F. Rinse the rice and boil it in water until it's partially cooked. Drain the water, rinse the rice under cold water, and transfer it to a bowl.

Step 2

Add rinsed raisins, pine nuts, and peeled, julienned apple to the rice. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon, and season with salt. Drizzle with melted butter and mix well.

Step 3

Cut the top off the pumpkin like a lid and set the lid aside. Use a spoon and knife to scoop out the seeds and fibers from the pumpkin. Place the pumpkin in the oven for half an hour. Then, fill the pumpkin with a rice filling, add an unpeeled head of garlic, and cover it with the lid you set aside.

Step 4

If the pumpkin is elongated, place it in a greased pot with high sides; if it is round, simply use a greased baking dish. The important thing is that it stands upright and doesn't tip over. Bake for about forty minutes. When serving, scoop the pilaf onto plates, including some of the pumpkin flesh.