Hazelnut Stuffed Baked Baby Pumpkins
BY RICHARD CORNISH
Recently Jock Zonfrillo came into Blake Family Grocers and asked how to cook our beautiful little baby heirloom pumpkins. One of our staff can’t get Masterchef on her TV at home and did not know that he is one of the judges. She gave him a raft of recipes and he was so very polite. This is one of our favourites. (You can replace the butter and cheese for olive oil and dairy-free cheese for a tasty vegan version.)
Serves 4
Ingredients
4 baby pumpkins
olive oil
4 fresh bay leaves
150 g wild rice
2 red onions
120g hazelnuts
60g butter
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
150 g stracciatella (or fresh mozzarella)
Fresh herbs
Method
Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan. Cut off the tops of the pumpkins and hollow out the pips and pith with a spoon. Discard into the compost. Rub the inside and out of the pumpkins with olive oil and season the inside with salt and pepper. Place pumpkins and tops on a roasting tray, place a bay leaf in each and roast for 50 minutes or until the flesh is soft.
While the pumpkins are roasting, rinse and drain the rice. Cook as per instructions. While the rice is cooking prepare the hazelnuts by placing them on a heatproof tray in the oven for 8 minutes. Remove and rub with a clean dishcloth to remove the brown skin. Discard the skin. Roughly chop or crush the nuts. Heat the butter in a heavy-based pan over medium heat. Add the rosemary and nuts and cook, stirring often, until the nuts begin to brown. Season. Remove rosemary.
Add the hazelnuts to the rice and stuff this into the cooked pumpkin. Return to the oven for 5 minutes. Remove and dress with equal portions of the fresh cheese. Garnish with chopped fresh herbs.
Hazelnut Stuffed Baked Baby Pumpkins
Ingredients
- 4 baby pumpkins
- olive oil
- 4 fresh bay leaves
- 150 g wild rice
- 2 red onions
- 120g hazelnuts
- 60g butter
- 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
- 150 g stracciatella (or fresh mozzarella)
- Fresh herbs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan. Cut off the tops of the pumpkins and hollow out the pips and pith with a spoon. Discard into the compost. Rub the inside and out of the pumpkins with olive oil and season the inside with salt and pepper. Place pumpkins and tops on a roasting tray, place a bay leaf in each and roast for 50 minutes or until the flesh is soft.
- While the pumpkins are roasting, rinse and drain the rice. Cook as per instructions. While the rice is cooking prepare the hazelnuts by placing them on a heatproof tray in the oven for 8 minutes. Remove and rub with a clean dishcloth to remove the brown skin. Discard the skin. Roughly chop or crush the nuts. Heat the butter in a heavy-based pan over medium heat. Add the rosemary and nuts and cook, stirring often, until the nuts begin to brown. Season. Remove rosemary.
- Add the hazelnuts to the rice and stuff this into the cooked pumpkin. Return to the oven for 5 minutes. Remove and dress with equal portions of the fresh cheese. Garnish with chopped fresh herbs.