Brazilian stuffed pumpkins
Published date: 13 May 2014
Camarão na Moranga – Pumpkins Stuffed with Prawn Stew
This recipe from northeastern Brazil definitely has wow factor, so it would be the perfect way to surprise Halloween dinner party guests. But with pumpkins now in season, we recommend that you give this straightforward supper a try any time. Serves 4.
- Prep: 20 minutes
- Cook: 2 hour
- Total time: 2 hour, 20 minutes
- Recipe serves: 6
Ingredients
- 4 small pumpkins
- 1 white onion (finely chopped)
- 6 fresh tomatoes (skin, peel and seeds removed)
- 2 cloves of garlic
- Half a tea spoon of cayenne pepper or chilli powder
- 1 red pepper
- 1 can of coconut milk
- 250g of raw prawns (peeled and de-veined)
- Coriander to garnish
- Salt and pepper to season
- Mild olive oil
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees. While you are waiting, rinse the pumpkins and slice the lid off the top of each, leaving to one side.
- With a spoon scrape the seeds from inside of each pumpkin and discard. Wrap them individually in foil and roast on a tray in the oven for approx 20 minutes.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan and simmer the onions until they are soft and translucent. Add the pepper and garlic and fry gently for another couple of minutes, then add the tomatoes and let them simmer down.
- Add a quarter of the coconut milk and let the mixture reduce. Keep adding the coconut milk bit by bit until you get a stew-like consistency.
- Add the prawns and let them cook gently in the sauce for 5-10 minutes.
- By now the flesh inside the roasted pumpkins should be soft. Using a spoon, distribute the prawn stew between each of them. Sprinkle the coriander on top and place the pumpkin lids back on top.
- Wrap the pumpkins back in foil and place in the oven for a further 10 minutes.
- Unwrap and serve to your guests with plain white rice.
Variation: Instead of individual mini pumpkins, use one large one for a dramatic centrepiece.