Pesto Rice-stuffed Butternut Pumpkin

This gluten free stuffed pumpkin recipe uses smaller butternut squashes for a cosy and delicious meal in autumn / winter months. Filled with a mixture with basmati rice, pesto, pistachios, feta and celery, this can also be made as one larger pumpkin or with other varieties of pumpkins. You just need to adjust the cooking time. Use brown or wild rice if desired.

	Almond Parsley Pesto
2 Small butternut pumpkins, halved lengthways 300 g Cooked long-grain rice Olive oil Sea salt and black pepper 150 g Parsley pesto 1 Egg, lightly whisked 1 Celery rib, diced 70 g Pistachios, lightly toasted, coarsely chopped 100 g Feta, crumbled 2 tbsp Honey or maple syrup Fresh herbs, to garnish	50 g Almonds, toasted 1 Garlic clove, crushed 3 tbsp Grated Parmesan 20 g Chopped fresh continental parsley 125 ml Extra virgin olive oil ½ tsp Sea salt ½ tsp Freshly milled black pepper

For pesto, preheat oven to 180C/350F. Place almonds on a baking tray and bake 8-10 minutes. Cool. Blend almonds, garlic, Parmesan and parsley in a food processor until chopped. Add olive oil in a thin stream until combined. Season with salt and pepper.
Halve the butternut pumpkins lengthways and use a spoon to scoop out the pumpkin seeds and discard. Use a small sharp knife to cut a diamond pattern into the cut side of the pumpkin. Brush inside and outside with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place pumpkin halves, cut-side up, on a roasting dish. Roast at 190C/375F for about 30 minutes, or until just fork-soft.
Combine the rice, pesto, egg, celery, half the pistachio and half the fetta in a medium bowl. Season. Remove pumpkin from the oven and divide the rice mixture among the pumpkin cavities. Drizzle the pumpkin with honey and season. Bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the pumpkin is very tender.
Place the pumpkin on a large serving platter. Drizzle with the extra pesto and sprinkle with the remaining pistachio and feta. Garnish with fresh herbs and serve immediately.

3 comments:

JoAnna 27/9/25 13:12: Good morning, Angie, what an interesting recipe, as always! Have a wonderful weekend and a beautiful autumn. Hugs.
DEZMOND 27/9/25 13:28: Tis the season of pumpkins! I have just told my brother this morning to harvest the basil in our yard before the rain starts next week and to dry it for winter.
Lola Martínez 27/9/25 14:34: Las calabazas cacahuete las consumo mucho, ahora me falta ponerle este rico pesto para disfrutarlas aún más.