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It’s the season for all things pumpkin and this dish certainly fits that description. A pumpkin is baked until tender and stuffed with delicious, melted cream cheese and a succulent shrimp stew. Brazilian shrimp stuffed pumpkin (camarāo na moranga) makes the perfect autumn meal. The pumpkin even looks great on the table to serve out of!
how to make Brazilian shrimp stuffed pumpkin
It all starts with the right pumpkin. You’re going to want a small-ish, medium-sized pumpkin. And if you plan to display the pumpkin to serve out of, look for the prettiest, roundest pumpkin you can find.
Cut a circle around the stem of the pumpkin. You will want it to be wide enough that you can easily fit a serving spoon into it later.
Scoop out all of the seeds and pumpkin guts. You need to scrape it right down so that the pumpkin flesh is nice and clean.
Wrap the entire pumpkin in tin foil and set it removed-stem-side down on a baking tray. Bake it for about fifty minutes at 350°F.
In the meantime, prep all of the vegetables and herbs.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Then cook the onion for a few minutes until it begins to become translucent. Stir in the jalapeño, paprika, bay leaves, and garlic, and cook for three minutes. Add the shrimp and cook for another minute.
Stir in the chopped tomatoes and continue cooking until they are soft. Season the shrimp stew to taste with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Remove the skillet from heat and stir in your cilantro and chives.
When the bake time is up, remove the pumpkin from the oven, but leave the oven heat on. Remove the tinfoil and set the pumpkin upright. Check the inside of your pumpkin for doneness, not just around the rim. Ovens and pumpkins can vary greatly. Make sure that the pumpkin flesh is almost soft before moving to the next step.
Use a spoon to spread the softened cream cheese around the inside of the pumpkin.
Fill the pumpkin with the shrimp stew. Then put the pumpkin back into the still heated oven for another twenty minutes. The cheese should be nice and melted, and the inside of the pumpkin soft and scoopable.
Serve Brazilian shrimp stuffed pumpkin on basmati rice. Make sure to scoop out lots of melty cheese and soft pumpkin flesh. And sprinkle it with additional freshly chopped chives and/or cilantro.
Looking for other delicious autumn recipes? Check out my honeycrisp apple sangria, or pumpkin cookies with maple butter glaze.
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Brazilian Shrimp Stuffed Pumpkin (Camarão na Moranga)
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Main dish
- Cuisine: Brazilian
Description
A delicious, tender baked pumpkin stuffed with melted cream cheese and a succulent shrimp stew.
Ingredients
1 medium pumpkin *
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium spanish onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeño, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp paprika
1 lb (454 g) large shrimp (peeled, cleaned & deveined)
3 cups (600 g) tomatoes, chopped (about 4 large)
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tbsp fresh chives, chopped
8 ounces (227 g) cream cheese, softened
kosher salt & freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Serve with:
basmati rice
garnish with fresh chives & cilantro
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Cut a circle around the stem of the pumpkin and remove the top. Scoop out and discard the seeds and pumpkin guts. Wrap the pumpkin with tin foil and set it removed-stem-side down on a baking tray. Bake for about 50 minutes.
In the meantime, prep the herbs and vegetables. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook onions for a few minutes until the begin to become translucent. Stir in jalapeno, paprika, bay leaves, and garlic. Cook for 3 minutes. Add shrimp and cook for another 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and cook until they are soft. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove skillet from heat and mix in chives and cilantro.
When bake time is up, remove pumpkin from the oven, take off the tinfoil and set upright. Leave the oven heat on. Check the pumpkin for readiness before moving to the next step. It should be almost soft throughout the inside. Return to tinfoil and oven if it needs more time.
Once the pumpkin is ready, use a spoon to cover the inside with the softened cream cheese. Then fill it with the shrimp stew and return it to the still heated oven for another 20 minutes. The cheese should be nice and melted, and the pumpkin flesh soft and scoopable.
Serve on top of basmati rice. Make sure to scrape out some of the soft pumpkin and melted cheese. Garnish with more chopped chives and/or cilantro.
Notes
* The pumpkin should be round in shape and the size should be on the smaller side of medium.
Keywords: brazilian shrimp stuffed stew
great
Thank you
Awesome recipe, the shrimp filling was amazing
Thanks so much. I love it too.
Oh My Goodness. I’ve waited for months for pumpkins to be ripe and available in the stores again to make this recipe. It tastes even better than I imagined.
So glad to hear, thanks for the kind review! 🙂
Made this for company who visited from out of province. The flavour of this dish stole the table talk. We were all sold on this recipe. Absolutely amazing.
Thank you! I’m so glad that you all enjoyed it.
This recipe is beyond amazing. I cannot wait to make this make meal for company.
Going in my ‘Favourites’ file.
That’s awesome to hear, thank you 🙂
This recipe is genius!! Most amazing for entertaining. Our guests were thrilled.
That’s great to hear, thank you
Love this recipe. Well worth the prep work. This will be a traditional meal for our family.
Thanks! It’s so festive, wonderful for this time of year.
Just wow. I think this is one of the most delicious meals I have ever tasted.
Wow, thanks so much! ❤️
So happy to find this recipe while I still had a pumpkin I could use. Absolutely delicious and a delight to display for company coming to dinner.
Thank you 🙂 It does make a beautiful centrepiece