Flash News: An announcement from our minister of tourism that domestic and international flights will resume somewhere in the middle of this month, probably between October 12th and 15th. With limitations, but those haven’t been announced. Still, a step in the re-opening our borders to the world direction!
Okay, not THAT Pumpkin Spice…. My inspiration from a classic Brazilian dish, Camarão na Moranga, or Shrimp in a Pumpkin. Not prepared as the traditional version of this dish, which has shrimp cooked in a cheesy, tomato sauce, but more of a mashup of the technique with a different shrimp filling, my version of Camarões com Leite de Côco, or Shrimp with Coconut Milk, but tweaked a bit too. So really, a different dish served up in a squash. Not important. It’s delicious. Maybe one day I’ll post the traditional one.
Shrimp. In this case, par-cooked, which is not normally what I’d use, but I had them par-cooked for another reason and figured I’d use them. Normally, that’d be a bowl of raw, cleaned shrimp. Coconut milk. Kabocha squash or other similar squash, small. Chili flakes, cornstarch, a chili, garlic, onion, lemon or lime juice, cilantro, butter. Salt and pepper are a given. Not pictured, a splash of coconut liqueur (or other liqueur that you like that goes with these flavors – my online students used pineapple liqueur).
First step, and not pictured, cut the pumpkin in half horizontally, to create two “bowls”. Scoop out the pumpkin seeds, set them aside. Rub the inside of each half with a little oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and a little chopped garlic (maybe 1/4 of what’s there), and place them cut side down on an oiled baking sheet. Cover with foil and bake in a hot oven for 40-45 minutes until soft.
Clean the squash seeds of excess pulp, toss them with oil, salt, and pepper, and spread them on another baking sheet and stick in the oven until golden brown and crispy – about 10-15 minutes. Set aside.
Start the filling about 30 minutes in to the cooking of the squash – basically after you’ve pulled out the seeds and set them aside, and got everything chopped and sliced. In a pan, sauté the onions in the butter with a little salt and pepper until they’re just starting to color.
Add the chopped garlic, sliced chili, and chili flakes and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
Not pictured because my shrimp were already cooked. Add the shrimp and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Since mine were parcooked, I just cooked the onion chili garlic mixture a couple of minutes longer and then added the shrimp in with the next step.
Deglaze with the splash of liqueur and cook for just a minute, then add the coconut milk whisked together with the cornstarch. (At this point I also added in my par-cooked shrimp.) Cook until thickened, about two minutes. Add chopped cilantro, or if you aren’t a fan, chopped parsley. Taste, add salt if need be. Ready!
Your squash halves should be soft and easily scoopable. Flip them over and put them in a bowl or on a serving plate. Fill with the shrimp mixture. Top with the crispy seeds. Serve and enjoy!
