While we’re all getting into the full swing of our New Year resolutions, I thought I’d share a few of my recipes from the festive season – starting with this stuffed pumpkin.

I’ve seen many variations of this concept over the past few weeks, and mine is nothing fancy. But it was super easy and vegan / gluten friendly too!

Ingredients

• 1 large butternut pumpkin, halved
• 1 cup black rice
• 200g vegan cheese (I used a vegan version of Persian fetta)
• 1 tbsp each of sunflower seeds, cranberries, pepitas
• 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 2 tbsp lemon infused olive oil

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200*C.
2. Place the pumpkin halves cut side up on a baking tray. Remove the seeds and bake until soft enough to scoop out a portion of the flesh in the middle (about 30 minutes).
3. Cook the rice as per the instructions (or you can cheat by using a supermarket microwave version). Mix the rice with the seeds and olive oil until well combined.
4. Scoop out a small portion of the pumpkin flesh. Fill the hole with the rice mixture, then top with the vegan cheese and bake until the pumpkin is soft (another 15 minutes should do).
5. Serve hot, or portions can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for 1 month. Enjoy!