Adi Hădean, the famous chef, says that baked pumpkin with flavorful filling is suitable for food lovers, for those who are thrilled when something new for their taste buds finds its way onto their plate.
Baked Pumpkin with Flavorful Filling – Ingredients:
1 small pie pumpkin, weighing 1-1.2 kg2 tablespoons of olive oil100-150 g edible chestnuts50-70 g basmati rice50 g butter1 small shallot1 small eggplant1/2 small quince1-2 cloves of garlicjuice of 1/2 orange
2 tablespoons of honey50 g smoked dried prunes100 g boiled green lentils or canned lentils50 g roasted walnut kernels10-20 g aged cheese (optional)pomegranate seeds (optional)a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg1/2 teaspoon freshly ground peppera pinch of salt to taste
Baked Pumpkin with Flavorful Filling – Preparation Method:
First, preheat the oven to 220 degrees.
Wash the chestnuts well and soak them in cold water for half an hour.
—Then, wash the pumpkin, cut it, remove the seeds, and hollow out the flesh using a spoon, leaving the skin on the pulp.
Salt the two halves of the pumpkin and coat them with olive oil, then cut the flesh into small cubes and let them bake in the oven for about half an hour until nicely browned.
Remove the cubes from the oven earlier as they require less time to bake.
Take out the baked pumpkin from the oven and set it aside in a warm place.
—Put the rice to boil in salted water and let it cook according to the instructions on the package (usually 15 minutes).
—Carefully score the soaked chestnuts’ shells with a sharp knife, a little from the flesh of each chestnut.
Put the scored chestnuts in the oven on a tray with 100 ml of water. After 15-20 minutes, the water in the tray has evaporated and the chestnuts need to be stirred a few times until they are well roasted on all sides. Then, peel them carefully and set aside.
—Meanwhile, peel the eggplant and cut it into small cubes, then let it soak in salted water for a while to prevent bitterness.
—Dice the quince and shallot into small cubes, and finely crush the garlic.
—Heat the butter in a saucepan, sauté the vegetables and quince over medium heat. After a few minutes, add the honey, orange juice, crushed garlic, finely chopped prunes, nutmeg, freshly ground pepper, and a little salt. Let it cook for only 1-2 minutes, stirring gently. The flavors in the saucepan have already begun to pleasantly combine with the aroma of the baked pumpkin and roasted chestnuts, so the delicious taste of the future lunch can already be felt.
Turn off the heat and add the chopped walnuts, the crushed chestnut flesh, the cooked rice, the roasted pumpkin cubes, and the lentils to the saucepan, stirring gently.
—We fill the two halves of the baked pumpkin with the mixture. Sprinkle grated cheese and a few pomegranate seeds on top.
The delicious, sweet-sour, slightly spicy lunch is now ready and can be served in plates.
Baked pumpkin with flavorful filling can be enjoyed as it is or as a side dish next to a piece of roasted meat.
Source: adihadean.ro
