Roasted Pumpkin Stuffed with Feta, Chickpeas & Quinoa

A deliciously cosy autumn lunch, packed full of pumpkin goodness! I absolutely love making this on a chilly, windy autumn day. It’s super tasty, wonderfully comforting and packed full of delicious flavours. It’s also surprisingly easy to make!

You can use almost any edible pumpkin, but I particularly love a small Potimarron or Uchiki Kuri pumpkin. They’re the beautiful bright red, onion-shaped pumpkins with a wonderfully sweet, nutty flavour.

Serves: 1–2 people

Prep time: 10–15 minutes

Cooking time: 40–50 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 small Potimarron or Uchiki Kuri pumpkin

• ½ tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• ½ pouch Merchant Gourmet ready-to-eat quinoa (...my cheats top tip!)

• 100g feta cheese, crumbled

• 2 handfuls fresh spinach, roughly chopped

• 2 tablespoons pine nuts

• 1 generous tablespoon tahini

• Olive oil

• Salt and black pepper

For the lemon & tahini dressing:

• 2 tablespoons tahini

• Juice of ½ lemon

• 1 teaspoon olive oil

• A little warm water

• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Prepare your pumpkin

Preheat your oven to 160°C fan. Slice a little off the bottom of your pumpkin so it stands upright. Cut off the top to make a lid and scoop out the seeds.

2. Roast your pumpkin

Drizzle with olive oil, season and cover loosely with foil. Roast for 20–30 minutes until the flesh starts to soften.

3. Mix your filling

Mix the quinoa, chickpeas, chopped spinach, most of the feta and half the pine nuts in a bowl. Add a generous spoonful of tahini, a squeeze of lemon and a little black pepper.

4. Stuff and bake

Once cooked, carefully tip out any water from your pumpkin and spoon in the filling. Cover with foil and bake for another 15–20 minutes until the pumpkin is tender and the filling is piping hot.

5. Make your dressing

Mix 2 tablespoons of tahini with the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Add a splash of warm water until smooth and pourable.

6. Serve and enjoy!

Remove from the oven, gently stir the filling and sprinkle over the remaining feta and pine nuts. Drizzle with your lemon and tahini dressing. Delicious!

6. EXTRA

If you're feeling really chef'ey wash the flesh from the seeds and lightly roast them. They're super tasty, and pack full of yummy goodness!

A Little Pumpkin Patch Tip!

Potimarron and Uchiki Kuri pumpkins are brilliant for roasting. Their flesh is naturally sweet with a lovely nutty flavour, and their skins become beautifully tender when cooked, so there’s no need to peel them!

This is one of my favourite autumn lunches. It’s colourful, filling, full of flavour and a delicious way to enjoy all that gorgeous pumpkin goodness.

Happy pumpkin cooking!