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Armenian Stuffed Pumpkin (Ghapama) with Rice, Honey and Dried Fruit

Stuffed Pumpkin

Ghapama is Armenia's winter centerpiece: a whole sugar pumpkin packed with buttered rice, apricots, prunes, raisins and walnuts, drenched in honey and cinnamon, then baked until the shell goes tender and the filling steams inside its own vessel. It arrives at the table intact, gets cut open in front of everyone, and every wedge carries sweet fruit and soft pumpkin flesh together.
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Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 8 People
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Armenian
Calories: 420
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 whole sugar pumpkin 6 to 7 lb, squat with a flat base
  • 1.5 cups long grain white rice rinsed until the water runs clear
  • 6 tbsp unsalted butter melted, plus more for the cavity
  • 0.5 cup honey divided
  • 1 cup dried apricots chopped
  • 0.75 cup pitted prunes chopped
  • 0.5 cup raisins dark or golden
  • 0.75 cup walnuts chopped; almonds work equally well
  • 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • 0.5 tsp salt for the rice water

Equipment

  • 1 Medium saucepan for parboiling the rice
  • 1 sturdy paring knife for cutting the cap
  • 1 metal spoon for scraping the cavity
  • 1 Large mixing bowl
  • 1 rimmed baking sheet or shallow roasting pan
  • 1 sheet of aluminum foil

Method
 

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Wash and dry the pumpkin, then set it on a cutting board and check that it stands level.
  2. Cut a cap off the top of the pumpkin at a slight inward angle, about 5 inches across, so the lid sits back in place without falling through. Set the cap aside.
  3. Scrape out the seeds and all stringy flesh with a metal spoon until the cavity walls are clean and smooth. Leave the flesh itself thick and intact.
  4. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil with the 0.5 tsp salt. Add the rinsed rice and cook for 6 to 7 minutes, until the grains are swollen but still firm in the center. Drain well and spread out to cool slightly.
  5. In a large bowl, combine the parboiled rice, melted butter, chopped apricots, prunes, raisins, walnuts, cinnamon and sugar. Add 0.25 cup of the honey and fold everything together until the grains are evenly coated.
  6. Rub the inside of the pumpkin cavity with a little butter, then spoon the filling in. Pack it gently, leaving about 1 inch of space below the rim so the rice has room to swell.
  7. Pour the remaining 0.25 cup honey over the top of the filling. Set the cap back in place.
  8. Place the pumpkin on a rimmed baking sheet and cover the whole thing loosely with foil. Bake for 70 minutes.
  9. Remove the foil and bake 20 to 25 minutes more, until a skewer slides easily through the pumpkin wall and the rice on top is tender. Total baking time runs 90 to 95 minutes depending on shell thickness.
  10. Let the pumpkin rest 15 minutes on the sheet. Carry it to the table whole, lift the cap, and cut down through the shell into 8 wedges so each serving takes both the filling and a piece of softened pumpkin flesh.

Notes

  • Pick a squat sugar pumpkin with a flat bottom so it sits upright and does not tip while baking.
  • Rice should be only half cooked before it goes in. It finishes inside the pumpkin on the fruit juices and butter.
  • If the shell starts to darken before the flesh is tender, tent the whole pumpkin loosely with foil.
  • Traditionally eaten on its own, straight from the wedge. A glass of strong Armenian coffee alongside is common at holiday tables.
  • Leftovers keep 3 days covered in the refrigerator. Scoop filling and flesh together into a baking dish and reheat at 325 F.
  • Soak very dry fruit in warm water for 10 minutes and drain before chopping.