This week is Thanksgiving, which is our favorite holiday because we get to try out new recipes as well as old classics. Since we’re all going to be stuffing ourselves in just a few days, this week we’re going to feature some recipes that are lighter and simpler, so that you have the energy and the room in your stomach for all the deliciousness soon to come. And so today we’ll show you an easy, vegan version of rice that we based off a recipe in the New York Times – it’s pretty simple to whip up and it’s also packed with veggies. This is the type of meal that’ll make you feel okay about overdoing it later this week, plus it’s also got some great seasonal flavors. So here’s how you can make this for yourself.
You’ll need:
- Olive oil
- Half of a medium-sized pumpkin
- An onion
- Pine nuts
- Currants
- Ground allspice
- Cinnamon
- Rice
- 3 Massel 7’s Chicken-Style bouillon cubes
- Butter
First, bring 3 cups of water to a boil and dissolve in your bouillon cubes. Next, cut your pumpkin into 1/2-inch cubes – you should have about 2 cups of pumpkin. Measure about 3 tablespoons of olive oil into a Dutch oven and warm over medium-high heat, then add the pumpkin and a pinch of salt and cook for 5 minutes or so, until it starts breaking apart and turns slightly brown.
Scoop out the pumpkin and set it aside in a bowl, then chop up your onion and place it into the Dutch oven. Cook for 5 minutes until it also starts to brown, then add 1/4 cup of pine nuts and let them toast just a little bit. Stir in 1/2 cup of currants and sprinkle everything with 1/2 teaspoon each of cinnamon, allspice, and black pepper.
Pour in 2 cups of rice and let it cook for a minute or two.
Then add in the broth you prepared earlier, let everything come to a boil, and add your pumpkin back in. Turn the heat down low and cover the pot to let this mixture simmer for 20 minutes.
Then turn off the heat but leave the lid on so that the rice steams for another 10-15 minutes. Once the everything is fully cooked, fluff the rice up and mix in 4 tablespoons of cut up pieces of butter.
Now you can dish up your rice and serve!
You can see that this rice doesn’t take too long to prepare, but with all the different flavors mixed in – pumpkin, currants, nuts, and the spices – it comes out really delicious. It also smells amazing as it’s cooking, and the pumpkin really makes it festive for this time of year. And by using no meat or dairy, this rice is filling without being too heavy. As you wait impatiently for Thanksgiving this week, this is the prefect recipe to get you in the holiday spirit and help whet your appetite for all the tasty food to come.