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Ghapama (Armenian stuffed pumpkin): photo of the dish
Illustrative photo: AndyHM — CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Holidays & entertaining

Ghapama (Armenian stuffed pumpkin)

A whole pumpkin, hollowed out and stuffed with rice, dried fruit and honey, then baked in the oven until the flesh is melting and sweet. A festive autumn dish, traditionally served at harvest celebrations and at Christmas.

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Ingredients

Ingredients

Garniture

Spices & seasoning

Optional extras

On the side

Nutrition facts

572 kcal per serving

Protein
6.6 g
Carbohydrates
87 g
of which sugars
41.5 g
Fat
21.6 g
of which saturated fat
9.3 g
Fiber
4.1 g

Ecomely’s estimate, calculated from the ingredients with the ANSES Ciqual food composition table, excluding sides and seasoning added to taste.

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Cut a lid off the top of the pumpkin and set it aside, then scoop out the inside carefully with a spoon, keeping the sound flesh.
  2. Rinse the rice, cook it for 10 minutes in boiling salted water, then drain it. It should remain slightly firm.
  3. In a bowl, mix the still-warm rice with the chopped apricots, raisins, crushed walnuts, half the honey, the cinnamon and the orange zest.
  4. Brush the inside of the pumpkin with half the melted butter, then fill it with the stuffing, pressing down lightly. Put the lid back on.
  5. Place the pumpkin in an ovenproof dish, pour the rest of the honey and butter over the top, then bake for about 1 hour 30 minutes, basting it with its juices once halfway through.
  6. Check the cooking by piercing the flesh with a knife: it should be tender without collapsing. Serve warm, cutting portions with the stuffing.

Variations and tips

Nut-free version. Replace the walnuts with toasted pumpkin seeds for a crunchy topping without tree nuts.

Using what you can find. A kabocha-type squash is easy to find in autumn at the supermarket; otherwise a butternut squash works very well.

More ideas

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Original Ecomely recipe.