Vegetable and rice stuffed pumpkin (vegan)

1 servings

Ingredients

QuantityIngredient
1Pumpkin (14 or 15 inches in
Diameter) or 2 smaller ones
4tablespoonsSugar
2tablespoonsTamari sauce
1cupWater
½poundsFresh shelled chestnuts
¼cupUn-sulfured raisins
¼cupUn-sulfured apricots,
Chopped
1Granny Smith apple, chopped
(or any tart apple)
½cupWalnuts, broken but not too
Small
1Stalk celery, chopped
1mediumWhite onion, chopped
1mediumRed onion, chopped
1canCorn, drained
1mediumSweet green pepper, chopped
1mediumSweet red pepper, chopped
1mediumZucchini squash, chopped
1mediumYellow squash, chopped
2mediumsFresh jalapeno peppers,
Seeded and minced
2cupsCooked brown basmati rice
¼teaspoonMace
¼teaspoonTumeric
Black pepper
½teaspoonCinnamon
4tablespoonsTamari sauce

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Wash pumpkin and cut off the top, angle the cut so that the top will fit back on more easily, use a big spoon to scoop out strings and seeds. Mix sugar and 2 tbs. tamari sauce (you can warm them in the microwave so they will mix more easily ) and spread evenly over insides of pumpkin. Line the bottom of a large pan with single piece of aluminum foil folded over itself 3 or 4 times, pour 1 cup water in pan, place top back on pumpkin and place in baking pan, cover the pumpkin and the pan with foil. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until pumpkin is just starting to become tender, the thicker the pumpkin the longer it will take.

2. Steam the nuts for about 15 minutes. Rinse them in cool water and slip off the brown skins. Chop chestnuts coarsely.

3. Combine chestnuts with raisins, apricots, apple, walnuts, celery, white and red onions, corn, green and red pepper, jalapeno peppers, mace, tumeric and rice, mix well. Add the 4 tbs. tamari and mix again.

4. Dust the inside of the pumpkin with the cinnamon. Pack the pumpkin with the filling and replace the pumpkin top. Return pan to oven, add water to cover the bottom of the pan and bake for 45 to 55 minutes.

5. If you are going to serve the pumpkin on something other then the pan it was cooked in BE CAREFUL. The bottom of the pumpkin may be VERY soft. Wrap the foil from the bottom of the pan up around the pumpkin as you pick it up, this will keep the bottom intact.

When serving this recipe, scrap the inside of the pumpkin with the serving spoon and mix the pumpkin into the stuffing.

If you have leftovers do not leave it in the pumpkin. Remove the filling and scrape out the pumpkin and store in your refrigerator.

Tastes great the day after.

NOTE: This is my modification of the recipe - THANKSGIVING PUMPKIN STUFFED WITH RICE AND CHESTNUTS From The High Road to Health, Wagner and Spade - which was posted to the FFList in October. My primary changes are adding lots more vegetables, removing the tofu and oil, and changing the honey to sugar. I have made this twice now, am going to make it for my family thanksgiving feast, and it is now one of my permanent recipes.

Posted by "Joseph B. McKay III" <MCKAY_J@...> to the Fatfree Dig. Vol. 12 Issue 8 Nov. 9, 1994. FATFREE Recipe collections copyrighted by Michelle Dick 1994. Used with permission. Formatted by Sue Smith, S.Smith34, TXFT40A@... using MMCONV.