Pumpkin with brown rice and toasted seeds
Cheese and bacon meet brown rice and pumpkin for a textural side dish that makes a perfect partner for roast lamb or chicken.
- Serves 4
Print
Ingredients
- 300 gm brown rice
- 100 ml olive oil
- 2 short-cut smokehouse-style bacon rashers, diced
- ½ white onion, finely chopped
- 400 gm peeled butternut pumpkin, diced
- 1 tsp hot paprika
- 1 tsp cumin seeds, coarsely ground
- 125 ml chicken stock (½ cup)
- 8 large pimento-stuffed green olives, roughly sliced
- 80 gm Danish feta, crumbled
- 80 gm Pecorino Romano, grated
- 2 tbsp toasted pumpkin seeds
Method
Main
- 1Cook rice in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until tender (15-20 minutes). Drain well.
- 2Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a casserole over high heat, add bacon and onion, and sauté until starting to caramelise (5-6 minutes). Add pumpkin and stir occasionally until starting to turn golden (3-4 minutes), then add spices and stir until fragrant (1 minute). Add stock, bring to the boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer, covered, until pumpkin is tender and liquid is absorbed (2-3 minutes). Remove pumpkin mixture from casserole and set aside.
- 3Heat remaining oil in casserole, add rice and stir occasionally until starting to toast (2-4 minutes).
- 4Transfer rice to plates and serve topped with pumpkin mixture, and scattered with olives, cheeses and pumpkin seeds.