Quinoa stuffed Potimarron

A potimarron is like a pumpkin, but is smaller and tastier. This time of year the organic smallholders who come to the Market at Felletin every Friday, come laden with them. If you can’t find a Potimarron you can use a small pumpkin instead…

This recipe originally used just rice, but we use quinoa in many dishes to provide protein and other nutrients. It works really well with the rice.

1 Potimarron (about 1.5-175kg)

2 tblsp olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tbsp sage

1 tbsp thyme

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp smoked paprika

125g long grain rice

100g Quinoa

2 large ripe tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped

600ml vegetable stock

40g hazelnuts, toasted and chopped

seasoning

Preheat your oven to 180C. Cut the top off the potimarron, to form a lid. Scrape out the seeds (you should try to save all the seeds – they are lovely roasted with soy and tobasco sauce). Scoop out most of the flesh  from the lid and the potimarron, leaving a thin layer (but thick enough that it doesn’t collapse!). Finely chop the flesh and set it aside.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the onion, garlic, sage, thyme, paprika and turmeric for 5 minutes until the onion is softened. Add the chopped potimarron flesh and fry for 5 minutes.

Stir in the rice and fry for 1 minute, then add the quinoa and the tomatoes and stock. Bring to the boil, cover and cook over a gentle heat for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the nuts and spoon into the potimarron shell.

Replace the potimarron lid, and place in a roasting pan. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out hot.

You can garnish with roasted potimarron seeds (if you followed my advice, and roasted them!),  or anything else you fancy.

Yum.