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Jamaican pumpkin rice
Pumpkin rice: rice cooked with calabaza, coconut milk, thyme and pimento
Along the north coast between Montego Bay and Ocho Rios, pumpkin rice turns up beside escovitch fish and steamed vegetables at Sunday lunch, the soft orange squash melting into the grains as they cook. Coconut milk, a sprig of thyme, scallion and a few pimento berries give it a gentle, savoury sweetness, and a whole scotch bonnet adds fragrance without much heat as long as it stays unburst. The common mistake is cutting the pumpkin too small, so it vanishes completely; 2 cm cubes partly melt and partly hold. Serve it with stew peas, jerk tofu or fried plantain. Chef's tip: rinse the rice until the water runs nearly clear, or the starch and pumpkin turn the pot sticky.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 10 ½ oz long-grain ricerinsed well
- 12 ½ oz pumpkincalabaza or butternut, peeled, in 2 cm cubes
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 2 cloves garliccrushed
- 3 spring onionschopped
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- ¾ cup coconut milk
- 1 ¾ cups water
- 1 scotch bonnetleft whole
- 1 tsp salt
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Heat 1 tbsp coconut oil in a heavy pot over medium heat and fry 1 onion, 2 cloves garlic and 3 spring onions for 3 minutes until soft and fragrant.
3 minStep 2: Add 12 ½ oz pumpkin, 3 sprigs fresh thyme and 5 allspice berries and stir for 2 minutes so the pumpkin is coated.
2 minStep 3: Pour in ¾ cup coconut milk and 1 ¾ cups water, add 1 tsp salt and bring to the boil. Taste the liquid: it should be pleasantly salty.
Step 4: Stir in 10 ½ oz long-grain rice, lay 1 scotch bonnet on top and bring back to a lively bubble. Cook uncovered for 2–3 minutes until the liquid drops level with the rice.
3 minStep 5: Cover tightly, turn the heat to its lowest and cook for 20 minutes without lifting the lid.
20 minStep 6: Check that the rice is tender and every drop of liquid has gone; the pumpkin should be soft and partly broken. Lift out the pepper, thyme stalks and pimento, fluff gently with a fork and rest covered for 5 minutes before serving.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 400 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 64 g
- Fat
- 13 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does jamaican pumpkin rice take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of long-grain rice?
- Any long-grain rice, same amount.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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