Stuffed Hokkaido pumpkins from the oven

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 2 Hokkaido pumpkins
• 250 g mushrooms
• 500 g minced meat (e.g. beef or poultry mince)
• 1 bell pepper(s), red
• 1 bell pepper(s), green
• 2 m.-sized onion(s)
• 6 garlic
• 1 egg(s)
• 1 can tomatoes, pureed (400 ml)
• 1 can of chopped tomatoes (400 g)
• 600 ml water
• 75 g rice
• e.g. salt and pepper
• e.g. paprika powder
• e.g. curry powder
• 1 tbsp vegetable stock powder
• e.g. parsley
• 4 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour 10 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 40 minutes

First, cook the rice according to the package instructions (it will be added to the filling). In the meantime, wash the Hokkaido pumpkins and cut off the tops. Make sure the lid is still usable and can be put back on for cooking. Cut off a bit of the bottom and level it so it sits upright in the casserole dish. Don’t cut a hole in it! Dice an onion, half a bell pepper, 1/3 of the mushrooms, and 1/3 of the garlic. Sauté everything in a pan with olive oil until the onions are translucent. Mix the raw ground meat with the egg, the cooked rice, and the steamed vegetables. Knead until evenly distributed, then season generously with salt, pepper, paprika, and parsley. Pour the mixture evenly into the hollowed-out pumpkins and press down. If desired, form the remaining mixture into balls, which then add to the sauce. Preheat the oven to 200°C (top/bottom heat). Roughly dice the remaining vegetables. Finely chop the garlic and briefly fry it vigorously in olive oil in a pan, then add the tomatoes. Rinse the cans with water and add them. Season with the vegetable stock powder and pepper, salt, paprika, and curry powder as desired. Pour the sauce into a prepared casserole dish and place the stuffed Hokkaido pumpkins inside, replacing the lids. Add the remaining meatballs to the sauce. Place in the preheated oven and roast for approximately 45-60 minutes. Serve with rice or baguette.