Description
The perfect blend of sweet & savory, these vegan Turkish rice stuffed pumpkins will make a stunning Thanksgiving centerpiece! Easy-to-make, gluten-free, allergen/WFPB-friendly.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Pumpkin:
- 1 large pumpkin (or 3 times as many small pumpkins)
- 2 tbsp molasses (grape or blackstrap)
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
For the Filling:
- 1 cup medium grain rice (arborio or baldo preferred)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, grated
- 1/2 cup almonds, whole, roasted
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 6 parsley sprigs
- 4 dill sprigs
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 Fahrenheit. Meanwhile, soak the rice in drinking water with salt.
- Wash the pumpkins, cut out the tops, then scoop out the seeds inside.
- Brush the inside of the pumpkins with molasses and sprinkle with ground cinnamon. Put the tops back on then bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
- To make the filling, sautee the onions in olive oil for 5 minutes in a medium-sized pan. Then add the almonds and sautee for another 5 minutes.
- Add the rice, cinnamon, parsley, and salt.
- When the pumpkins are done with their initial bake, stuff them with the rice filling. Add the orange juice and water. Stir everything.
- Seal with the pumpkin caps and bake for 1 hour.
- Let slightly cool before serving with fresh dill, and cut into slices if desired.
- It will keep in an airtight container in the refridgerator for 3-5 days. You may also freeze this dish after cutting into slices for up to 3 months.
Notes
- You may omit the olive oil and use brown or wild rice to make this dish whole-food-plant-based.
- Omit the almonds and add pumpkin seeds to make it dish nut-allergy-friendly.
- Depending on the BTU output of your oven, the rice may need more or less water. Check 45 minutes into the bake to make this adjustment.
- You can make the rice filling one day ahead if you are planning to serve this dish the next day when you will be preoccupied.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 90 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Holiday
- Method: Sautee, Bake
- Cuisine: Turkish
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 1617
- Sugar: 63.5 g
- Sodium: 1137.5 mg
- Fat: 77.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 197.2 g
- Fiber: 16.7 g
- Protein: 45 g
- Cholesterol: 231.4 mg
