Ghapama
A traditional Armenian holiday dish, Ghapama is a stuffed pumpkin filled with rice, cherries, cranberries, dried dates, golden raisins, toasted pecans, toasted walnuts and cinnamon spice, baked whole with the top on.
Total Time: 
Servings: 10Ingredients
10 each sugar pumpkin, fresh, whole
10 cups rice, medium grain, dry
15 cups water
5 cups butter, unsalted, melted, divided
5 cups Frozen DOLE® Red Tart Cherries
5 cups Frozen DOLE Whole Cranberries
2½ cups dates, dried, pitted, chopped
2½ cups golden raisins
2½ cups pecans, toasted, chopped
2½ cups walnuts, toasted, chopped
½ cup cinnamon, ground
2½ cups honey
Directions
- Cap and deseed pumpkin by scraping out inside with a spoon, save cap.
- Add water and rice into a pot and bring to a boil. Cover and then reduce to a simmer.
- Cook rice until it is half way cooked, about 6-8 minutes.
- Drain excess water from rice; cover and set aside.
- Using half of melted butter (2 ½ cups), brush inside and outside surfaces of each pumpkin.
- Add remaining 2 ½ cups melted butter to rice, stir to combine.
- In a large bowl, combine all remaining ingredients; stir until well combined.
- Stuff mixture into pumpkins and top each with its cap. Wrap in foil and roast in oven at 350° F for 4 hours, or until the rice is tender and the pumpkin is soft.
- Place on platter and slice the pumpkin with a knife in eighths.
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