What a magnificent centrepiece for a Halloween supper, a delicious roasted pumpkin, bursting with an aromatic pilaf. Fluffy Tilda Basmati Rice, savoury onions, garlic and spices combined with pistachio and apricots creates such a special rice dish, all contained within one of your 5 a day! Spectacular served with a tagine or curry.
This recipe uses Mellow Yellow Rapeseed Oil which is low in saturated fat and high in Omega 3. Simply click here to find your nearest stockist.
1 medium pumpkin (approx. 2kg)
2 small onions finely chopped
50g pistachio nuts roughly chopped
50g dried apricots chopped
2 cloves garlic crushed
3cm piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2tsp fennel seeds
1tsp ground cinnamon
ground seeds from 3 cardamom pods
400ml vegetable stock (well seasoned)
150g Tilda Basmati Rice
2tbsp Mellow Yellow Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Prepare the pumpkin by carefully cutting around the top to create a lid. Scoop out and discard the seeds, replace the lid and place in a roasting tin on a low shelf in the oven for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile heat a lidded pan on a medium setting, add 2tbsp Mellow Yellow and fry the onions for a few minutes until soft and glossy. Add the garlic, ginger, fennel seeds, cardamom, cinnamon, and fry for another minute before adding the pistachio, apricots and Tilda rice. Stir well and then add the hot stock, cover and reduce the heat to simmer for around 10 minutes until the rice is almost cooked but still a little wet.
Remove the pumpkin from the oven and fill with the rice mixture, replace the lid and loosely cover with foil. Return the pumpkin to the oven for 1 hour until the flesh is cooked through.
Serve with Tagine or Curry and enjoy as the perfect centrepiece for a Halloween supper!