Oven-Baked Small Pumpkin Stuffed with Meat and Vegetables

Ingredients

• Small laqtina (small pumpkin)
• 500 g meat (shank or any beef/lamb cuts)
• 1 leek
• 1 carrot
• 1 red bell pepper (large or small)
• 1 green bell pepper (small or large)
• 2 red onions
• 2 tomatoes
• A bunch of fresh cilantro
• 1 tsp dried herbs such as thyme or rosemary
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tbsp mustard
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Juice of a lemon
• Oven-baked stuffed pumpkin with meat and vegetables — from our friend and site chef:
• Aml Khudr
• Click her name to visit her page
• For more of her special recipes see Turkish Chicken Kebab

Method

1. Cut the meat into small cubes and slice the vegetables thinly.
2. Mix the meat and vegetables with the remaining ingredients and spices.
3. Remove the stem from the top of the washed pumpkin (laqtina) and scoop out the seeds and fibers.
4. Place the pumpkin in an ovenproof baking tray and fill it with the meat-and-vegetable stuffing.
5. Close the top again with the stem after stuffing. If there is extra filling, place it in the bottom of the tray.
6. Wrap the tray well with aluminum foil and bake in a moderate oven for about 1 hour.
   Timers: 60 min
7. After the time has passed, check that the pumpkin is cooked by inserting the tip of a sharp knife.
8. When the stuffed pumpkin is done, cut it vertically down the middle and slice it so you can take a bit of the meat and vegetables together with a slice of pumpkin when serving.
9. Serve the oven-baked stuffed pumpkin alongside white rice or quinoa.