Our resident chef Mark Hix on what to do with all that nice stuff you scoop out of your gourd
It’s almost Halloween and we’re about to undergo a form of international mass hysteria, buying a shed-load of pumpkins, scooping out all the lovely edible bits, putting them in the bin and carving faces into the remains. Madness. Pumpkins and squashes are delicious, and they deserve better than being unceremoniously ditched in the name of spooky celebrations. Some squashes and pumpkins taste better than others, and the depth of colour in the flesh is a good sign of a ripe, flavoursome gourd.
I’m always amazed at how long squashes keep. Last week, when I was preparing our Crown Prince feast, I used a butternut squash that was harvested a year ago; you would have thought it had recently been cut from the plant.
Last week I told you how to make a curry and the recipe below for jewelled Crown Prince squash rice is the perfect accompaniment. You can also serve it with all sorts of meat and fish dishes, or even turn it into a salad with prawns, crab or lobster.
Jewelled Crown Prince Squash Rice recipe
(Serves 4-6)
This is rather like the classic Persian jewelled rice but rather less complicated in its preparation. You could add raisins, pistachios or dried cranberries if you want, depending on what you’re serving it with. And feel free to sub in pumpkin flesh.
INGREDIENTS
- 80-100g basmati rice
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 3 spring onions, cleaned, halved lengthways and finely chopped
- 120-150g cleaned weight of squash (or pumpkin) flesh, finely shredded or grated
- 1 tbs chopped dill
- 1 tbs chopped coriander
- 2 tbs lightly toasted pumpkin seeds
- 60g butter
- Freshly ground black pepper
METHOD
- Put the rice in a bowl and cover with cold water.
- Drain a couple times, moving it around with your fingers until the water is clear, then place the rice in a saucepan, cover with about three times the amount of boiling water, add the salt and bring to the boil.
- Simmer gently for 6-7 minutes then drain quickly and return the rice to the pan, off the heat. Stir in the rest of the ingredients, cover with a lid and allow the rice to sit for five minutes to fluff up.