serves
4
prep
45 minutes
cook
1 hour
difficulty
Mid
serves
4
people
preparation
45
minutes
cooking
1
hour
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
- 4 miniature pumpkins
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra, for drizzling
- salt and ground white pepper, to taste
- 20 g rainforest honey
- 2 litres rich brown chicken stock
- 5 g fennel seeds
- 20 g finely chopped ginger
- 20 g finely chopped garlic
- 20 g finely chopped red Asian shallot
- 200 g dry land rice
- 100 ml verjuice
- 4 green tiger prawns, peeled, clean, deveined and coarsely chopped
- 50 g smoked butter
- soy sauce, to taste
- 2 lemons, juiced
- 1 tbsp pepitas seeds, roasted
- 4 pumpkin flowers, torn
Instructions
- Preheat a wood fired oven.
- Place the miniature pumpkins in a small baking dish, drizzle with the oil, season with salt and roast until deeply caramelised - you want a deep mahogany colour. Remove and stand until cool enough to handle.
- Slice off the lids and use a spoon to hollow out and discard the membrane and seeds. Scoop the flesh out, then coarsely chop and place back into the baking dish. Season with salt, drizzle with a little more oil, then roast until golden and crisp.
- Brush the hollowed out pumpkins with the honey, then leave on the hearth near the fire until caramelised, sticky and smoky.
- Meanwhile, place the chicken stock in a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer.
- Heat a heavy - based saucepan over medium heat. Dry toast the fennel seeds for 2 -3 or until fragrant and light golden. Add the oil, ginger, garlic and shallot and stir until translucent. Add the rice and fry until it starts to stick. Add the verjuice and simmer until it is completely absorbed. Pour in the hot chicken stock, stir to combine well, then simmer until the rice is tender.
- Remove the pan from the heat, then stir in the chopped prawns, roasted pumpkin and smoked butter. Continue stirring slowly until the prawns have cooked in the hot rice. Season with salt, white pepper, soy sauce and lemon juice.
- Divide the pumpkins between serving plates. Spoon the rice mixture into the pumpkins, then scatter with the toasted pepitas and torn pumpkin flowers. Top with the lids and serve.
This recipe and image is from Taste of the Tropics - Troppo Kitchen.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
