Autumn stuffed pumpkin

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 cup rice, whole grain (e.g. wild rice mix)
• salt water
• 1 pepper, red
• 1 onion(s)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 carrot(s), purple
• 100 g leek
• 1 ½ kg pumpkin(s) (Hokkaido)
• 1 bell pepper(s), yellow
• 1 apple, sour
• 25 g pumpkin seeds
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 egg(s)
• 50 g Parmesan, freshly grated
• 1 handful of cheese, grated for topping
• ½ liter vegetable broth
• salt and pepper
• nutmeg
• Parsley
• Fat for frying (e.g. clarified butter)

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes

suitable for the season, colorful and seasonal

Cook the rice in salted water according to the package instructions. Add a finely chopped red chili pepper to the water. It’s best to add enough water to retain all the nutrients and spice (usually a ratio of 1:2 or 1:2.5) to preserve the rice’s nutrients and flavor. Cut the vegetables into rings and/or cubes, as desired. Sauté the onion and garlic in a little fat (I use clarified butter) in a saucepan until translucent. Add the leek and carrots, and turn off the heat. Then add the bell pepper, apple, pumpkin seeds, parsley, Parmesan cheese, and sour cream. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Add the egg, mix well, and let stand briefly. Meanwhile, preheat the oven (180-200°C, top/bottom heat). Then cut out the “lid” of the pumpkin and hollow it out. Any remaining pumpkin flesh can be stirred into the filling mixture. Now the pumpkin can be filled with the mixture. Then it’s placed in a casserole dish, into which 1/2 liter of vegetable broth is poured. The cheese is placed on top of the pumpkin’s opening, and the lid can be placed next to it in the dish and cooked. The whole thing should be baked in the oven on the middle rack for about 30-40 minutes. If you don’t want to wait that long, you can pre-cook the pumpkin in the oven with the lid on for 20 minutes and then fill it.