Whole Roasted Pumpkin with Green Beans and Red Curry Rice

2.7

(12)

12 Reviews

Long Island cheese pumpkins have deep, vibrant orange flesh and a sweet, nutty flavor. They roast smooth and creamy, making them the ideal squash for pies, purees, or serving as edible vessels for soups and curries. Here, rice is cooked to a risotto-like texture inside the pumpkin with red curry paste and coconut milk. Serve it as a hearty and warming main course or as a side dish for roast fish or pork. Bring the whole pumpkin to the table on a rimmed baking sheet or platter, and spoon the saucy rice, studded with spoonfuls of tender pumpkin, into shallow bowls. Be sure to line the baking sheet well, as the pumpkin may release juices during baking.

By

Mary-Frances Heck

Updated on October 1, 2020

Whole Roasted Pumpkin with Green Beans and Red Curry Rice — Photo: Photo by Greg DuPree / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer

Active Time:

10 mins

Total Time:

2 hrs

Yield:

4 to 6

Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

1 (3-pound) Long Island cheese pumpkin, scrubbed
1 cup uncooked jasmine rice
1 (15-ounce) can coconut milk
1/4 cup water
1 (3- to 4-ounce) can red curry paste
2 cups green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon fish sauce, or more to taste
Kosher salt, to taste
Fresh cilantro leaves, fresh mint leaves, and fried shallots, for serving

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Using a small sharp knife, cut a 4-inch circle around the pumpkin’s stem. Cut off any stringy membrane attached to top; set aside. Use a large spoon to scrape and remove seeds and stringy membrane from inside pumpkin.
Set pumpkin on a parchment paper– or aluminum foil–lined rimmed baking sheet. Add rice, coconut milk, 1/4 cup water, and curry paste to pumpkin; stir to dissolve curry paste. Place top on pumpkin.
Bake pumpkin in preheated oven until filling is bubbling, about 1 hour. Carefully remove top, and stir in green beans, fish sauce, and salt to taste. Replace top, and bake at 350°F until pumpkin flesh and green beans are fork-tender and rice has a risotto-like texture, 30 to 45 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes; taste and adjust seasoning with salt or fish sauce. Scoop rice and tender pumpkin into bowls, and top with cilantro, mint, and fried shallots.