Stuffed pumpkin - general principles and methods of cooking
Pumpkin is an excellent basis for preparing delicious, nutritious and healthy dishes. The high content of vitamins and minerals makes this product a frequent guest on the tables in different countries of the world.
Pumpkin can be fried, baked, dried, it turns out delicious porridge, but the stuffed pumpkin baked in the oven becomes a real culinary masterpiece. The filling for an orange fruit can be very different - mushrooms, meat, vegetables, cereals, apples, dried fruits, beans and other ingredients. To make the dish juicy and fragrant, the filling is complemented with sauce or sour cream.
Stuffed Pumpkin - Food Preparation
Pumpkin does not require special preparation before cooking, it is enough to wash it thoroughly and clean it of seeds and pulp (this is a young fruit). In the event that the pumpkin is torn from the bed a long time ago, before proceeding to the preparation of a dish, the skin should be removed from it. Depending on the filling, the hostess chooses products and treats them accordingly, for example, boils and roasts mushrooms, pours dried fruit with boiling water and gives time for them to swell.
Stuffed Pumpkin - The Best Recipes
Recipe 1: Stuffed Pumpkin Chicken and Mushrooms
A hearty and nutritious dish is suitable for special occasions and a traditional family dinner.
Ingredients:
- 1 pumpkin (medium size);
- 1 chicken breast;
- 2 potatoes;
- 300 grams of mushrooms;
- 1 sweet pepper;
- 1 onion;
- 1 small squash;
- 2/3 cup of milk;
- 1/2 cup of cream;
- 100 grams of cheese;
- 1 tablespoon butter;
- 3 cloves of garlic;
- vegetable oil for roasting;
- salt;
- spices.
Method of preparation
Peel the pumpkin so that the walls of the fruit are not thicker than 2-3 centimeters, after removing the top (do not throw it away! It will be used as a cover).
Pumpkin inside must be rubbed with garlic, greased with oil, add a little water and put in the oven for a short time so that it becomes softer.
Separately fry the ingredients for the filling in vegetable oil: mushrooms, zucchini, pumpkin pulp, potatoes, onions and chicken pieces. After the filling is ready, add the cream and milk, extinguish everything for 7-10 minutes. Pumpkin, which was already languishing in the oven, fill with the prepared mixture, close the pumpkin with a “lid”, put in the oven for 20-30 minutes (the temperature should not be too high). A few minutes before cooking, add cheese and let it melt.
Recipe 2: Stuffed Armenian Pumpkin (Hapala)
Armenians know a lot about cooking, an example of this is a beautiful stuffed pumpkin, this dish in its homeland is called Hapala.
Ingredients:
- 1 pumpkin (weight 1.5 kg);
- 100 grams of butter;
- 100 grams of rice;
- 100 grams of cherry plum;
- 50 grams of sugar;
- 1/2 cup of raisins;
- 2-3 apples;
- cinnamon;
- salt.
Method of preparation
Prepare a pumpkin (wash, cut off the top, clean the entrails, rinse with cold water). Next, proceed to the preparation of the filling.
Pumpkin seeds to remove, chop the pulp, add boiled rice (do not digest! Until half-ready!), Send raisins scalded with boiling water, finely chopped apples, stalked plum, cinnamon and salt. Start the pumpkin, place it on a piece of food paper and put it in the oven. After some time, the pumpkin will start to burn a little on top, at this moment it is necessary to put on it a foil or paper, previously moistened with water.
Served ready-made dish on the table hot, poured over with melted butter.
Recipe 3: Pumpkin Stuffed with Porridge
Pumpkin with porridge - a traditional dish that our ancestors cooked in the oven. The modern housewife, as a rule, does not have one, but an oven is suitable for baking.
Ingredients:
- 1 pumpkin (1.5 kilograms);
- 300 grams of beef;
- 200 grams of buckwheat;
- 1 onion;
- 100 grams of sour cream;
- 4 boiled eggs;
- 30 grams of butter;
- greens (dill, parsley);
- spices;
- salt.
Method of preparation
Cut off the top of the pumpkin, clean the entrails, rinse. Cut the flesh into small pieces, boil buckwheat, fry the onions and beef in oil, add salt and spices, and simmer until cooked.
Beef and pieces of pumpkin, brought to readiness, mix with buckwheat, add chopped boiled eggs and greens, fill the filling with sour cream.
Stuff the pumpkin, close the tip and place it in the oven. Cook until the pumpkin is soft (check with a match). Since the juice from the pumpkin will be released intensely, the vegetable should first be placed on a baking sheet or in a large deep bowl.
Recipe 4: Pumpkin Stuffed with Apples and Prunes
Pumpkin is not necessarily stuffed with meat, it goes well with sweet foods, such as dried fruits, nuts and apples.
Ingredients:
- 1 pumpkin;
- 1 glass of prunes (pitted);
- 1 glass of walnuts;
- 3 apples;
- 1/2 cup of raisins;
- 1/3 cup rice;
- 200 grams of cream or sour cream;
- 100 grams of butter;
- cinnamon;
- sugar;
- salt.
Method of preparation
Prepare pumpkin for stuffing (cut off the top, remove the pulp).
Boil rice until half cooked, cut pumpkin pulp into cubes, wash the raisins and prunes thoroughly and dry them with a towel. We cut the apples into straws, add nuts (it is not worth chopping up much, it is enough to break them into quarters). All mix, refilled with sugar, salt and cinnamon.
Stuff the pumpkin, add a little water and pieces of butter. After the fruit is ready for roasting, it should be oiled and put in the oven. The cooking process takes place on low heat for half an hour.
Served sweet pumpkin with sour cream or whipped cream.
Stuffed pumpkin - useful tips from experienced chefs
- It is important to choose the right pumpkin, it should be elastic and orange, you should not take too big fruits, the smaller the pumpkin, the more juicy and tasty it is.
- It is preferable to take summer varieties of pumpkin, they are more suitable for stuffing.
- Pumpkin readiness is checked using a toothpick or a match, it can also be identified by smell and a shiny surface.
- Carefully take out the pumpkin from the oven, especially if it is in foil, the fruit comes out with juices during cooking, you can burn yourself.
