Fall has finally arrived, which can only mean one thing: Halloween is fast approaching!

While we're obsessed with pumpkin spice everything, other individuals prefer to stick to the basics—like simple pumpkins, lattes, cookies, pie, and every Halloween pumpkin recipe you can make with fall's favorite gourd.

 

A whole pumpkin packed with jewelled rice is so beautiful that it doesn't need many side dishes to balance it out: the starchy inside eliminates the need for potatoes or orzotto, and the colorful sauce eliminates the need for a slew of sauces.

 

Naturally, pumpkins vary in size, and if yours is significantly smaller, here's a quick way to figure out how much rice you'll need to stuff it: Place a freezer bag in the hollowed-out cavity after you've sliced a "lid" off the top of the pumpkin and removed all the seeds. Fill it with rice until it reaches halfway up the cavity.  To determine how much rice you have, place it in a measuring jug and double the ratio of stock to the rice. If you're increasing the amount of rice, adjust the other ingredients appropriately.

 

So let’s look at this Halloween pumpkin recipe by the celebrity chef Nigella Lawson.

 

Roast Stuffed Pumpkin with Gingery Tomato Sauce By Nigella Lawson 

 

Ingredients (Serves 8-12) 

 

For the roast pumpkin-

1 pumpkin (312 kg), ideally French pumpkin

A single onion (finely chopped)

1 tablespoon oil (vegetable) (or olive oil)

3 garlic cloves (2 minced, 1 left whole)

150 g cranberries, dried

1 teaspoon ginger powder

1 teaspoon allspice powder

1 clementine zest 

1 decent pinch of saffron threads

About 400 grams basmati rice 

1-gallon hot vegetable stock

Sour (to taste)

Cayenne (to taste)

 

Sauce with Ginger And Tomatoes 

a single onion (peeled and halved)

2 garlic cloves (peeled)

1 teaspoon ginger powder

1 piece of fresh ginger, 3 cm (peeled)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

700 g passata de tomate

500 ML (milliliters)

1 tsp. caster sugar 1 tsp. salt (to taste)

Cayenne (to taste)

 

Instructions:

 

For the pumpkin-

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius/180 degrees Celsius fan/gas mark 6/400 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the seeds and fibrous flesh from the inside of the pumpkin by slicing a lid off the top and retaining the top to put it back on later.
• Fry the onion gently in the oil until softened, then add the 2 minced garlic cloves, cranberries, spices, and clementine/satsuma zest to a big skillet (with top). Stir in the rice and turn it in the pan until it gets glossy.
• Pour in the stock and bring to a boil, then cover with the lid and reduce the heat to the lowest setting possible. 15 minutes in the oven. 
• Cut the remaining garlic clove in half and rub the cut sides of each half inside the pumpkin, then distribute some salt over the meat inside with your fingers.
• At this point, the rice stuffing will be moist and not very fluffy, but taste it for seasoning, adding extra spice, salt, or pepper if desired, and then spoon it into the garlic-and-salt-rubbed pumpkin cavity and tamp it down well. Replace the pumpkin lid on top and squeeze it down as tightly as possible (it will sit up a bit proud of the top).
• To keep the pumpkin out of direct touch with the surface, place it on a double sheet of foil and wrap the foil 4cm / 2 inches up around the sides, and scrunch it there. Make sure the pumpkin doesn't come in contact with water. 
• Fill a roasting tin halfway with freshly boiling water and place the stuffed, partially wrapped pumpkin in it. Cook the pumpkin for approximately 2 hours, or until it is soft when punctured.
• In the meantime, get to work creating the Gingery Tomato Sauce.
• Remove the pumpkin from the roasting tray and set it aside for 10 minutes before slicing it into cake-like segments.

 

For the sauce-

• In a stand mixer like the Acekool MC1, blitz the onion, garlic, dried ginger, and fresh ginger to a pulp.
• In a deep, wide pan, heat the oil, and then add the onion-garlic mixture. Cook for about 10 minutes over low heat, stirring regularly to avoid burning.
• Season with sugar, salt, and pepper after adding the passata and water to the pan.
• Cook for 15 minutes at a low simmer, then season to taste before decanting into a warmed jug or gravy boat and bringing to the table to pour over packed pumpkin slices.

 

We hope you'll love trying out celebrity chef Nigella Lawson's amazing Halloween pumpkin recipe. It will surely leave your friends and family impressed.