Eco Lesbo Vego

Friday Feast: Quinoa-stuffed Butternut Pumpkin

Today’s recipe is a bit of a quirky one that I made up a few months ago and perfected this Thanksgiving. I really wanted to try out quinoa, a grain commonly eaten in Peru and really protein-rich (great for folks who are after low-carb meals). It’s about the size of couscous, so I figured making it into a stuffing would be a great idea.

Quinoa - it looks sort of like couscous, but it's a protein-rich grain

Here’s the recipe!

Quinoa-stuffed Butternut Pumpkin (Squash)

Quinoa-stuffed butternut pumpkins (squash)

Ingredients

• 1 butternut pumpkin, cut in half with the seeds and some flesh scooped out
• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 2 apples, diced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 ribs of celery, diced (you can also include the chopped celery leaves)
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped well
• 1 handful of broken pecans
• 1 small handful of craisins (dried, sweetened cranberries)
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil

Celery, onion and apples - oh my!

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Rub pumpkins all over with olive oil and place cut side up in a roasting or casserole dish. Rub some brown sugar on the cut areas. Place in the oven until the pumpkins are justsoft enough to pierce with a fork, but still firm enough to easily hold their shape.
3. Meanwhile, place quinoa and vegetable stock in a pot and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer with a lid for 10 to 12 mins. Remove from the stove and set aside, covered (the liquid will absorb).
4. Pour some olive oil into a large frying pan and add the veges/fruit as you chop – celery, onion and apple. Add salt and pepper, then cook for 10 to 15 mins to soften the vegetables/fruit.
5. Add the parsley, celery leaves (if using), pecans and craisins, and cook for 2 mins more, til the greens wilt and the craisins plump up a little.
6. Remove from the heat and add the quinoa.
7. Tightly stuff the pumpkins with the quinoa mixture, cover the dish with foil and return to the oven. Cook for approximately 30 mins.
8. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 mins, unless the pumpkin is soft.

Pecans, parsley and craisins, ready to go into the pan.

Let me know what you think!

December 4, 2009 at 12:20 am Leave a comment