We’re all about stuffed squash these days. So when we got the cutest little kabocha at the market, we resisted the urge to make our standard pumpkin coconut curry. Instead, we took all of the elements of our traditional curry and made curried rice and stuffed the kabocha with it. You MUST try this recipe- it’s amazing!!

Ingredients:

-1 small kabocha squash, unpeeled and halved
-cumin
-1 cup basmati rice
-1 can lite coconut milk
-veggie broth
-zest of one lime
-1 brown onion, diced
-1/2 cup carrot, finely cubed
-3 cloves garlic, minced
-1 inch ginger, minced
-about 2 T curry powder
-cayenne
-6 kafir lime leaves, sliced (more if you want)
-1/2 cup broccoli, cut into small florets
-12 oz firm tofu, finely cubed
-1/3 cup frozen peas

Procedure:

*** There are three elements to this recipe- the kabocha, the rice, and the veggies. You can work on the veggies while the rice and kabocha are cooking. If the rice or kabocha are finished cooking, just keep warm until needed.***
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees with a baking sheet in the oven.
2. Prepare the rice. Heat rice, 1 cup coconut milk (SAVE what is left in the can), and 1 cup veggie broth in a saucepan over medium-high heat until boiling. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook until rice has absorbed all of the liquid. Add the zest of one lime to cooked rice. Remain covered and set aside.
3. Coat the kabocha well (all surfaces) with olive oil. Sprinkle each cut side with about 1 teaspoon of cumin and about a half teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Place kabocha halves face down on the hot baking sheet. Cook for 10 minutes, then flip halves over and continue to cook until just fork tender. Turn off the oven and keep the squash in the oven so it stays warm.
4. Heat about 2 T olive oil over medium heat in a very large skillet. Saute the onion and carrot until onions are slightly browned. Add ginger, garlic, curry (you can add less if you prefer a more delicate curry flavor), cayenne according to your heat preference, kafir lime leaves, about 1 T cumin, salt, pepper, broccoli, tofu, and peas. Cook for about 30 seconds, then add the remainder of the coconut milk. Cook until carrots are tender. You may want to add a splash more of veggie broth if the mixture becomes too dry.
-Add cooked rice to the veggie mixture. Taste for flavoring- you may want to add a bit more spice, salt, or curry at this point. We were naughty and added a generous sprinkle of olive oil at this point, turned up the heat, and fried it all for about 2 minutes to get a bit of color on everything.
-Scoop a nice mound of the curry veggies and rice into your kabocha halves. If it spills over, that’s even better. Eat it on the sofa with your favorite glass of wine!