Because We Don’t Eat Enough Squash!
No, that’s not true. We eat a buttload of squash, but mostly butternut (because it’s so versatile.) But recently I decided to branch out into the world of acorn squash, and I’d say it was a pretty good showing.
Stuffed Acorn Squash
Acorn squash is also considered a ‘winter’ squash, and they are typically smaller than butternut, ranging from one to three pounds. They can be found in most grocery stores, and best of all, they aren’t a total pain in the ass to cut in half. They look like this from the outside:
(Not my photo. I only bought one squash, ya see?)
So anyway, these little guys are perfect for baking or roasting or STUFFING, and I love stuffing things, so that’s what I did.
For this (to serve 2) you will need:
1 large acorn squash
1 yellow onion, diced (or pureed if you are me and have a boyfriend who hates large chunks of onion)
spinach
rice, cooked according to package directions. (I think this would be awesome with wild rice, but white was all I had on hand.)
chickpeas, drained and rinsed
olive oil
cumin
chili powder
garlic powder
Begin by cutting the squash in half width-wise and scraping out the seeds. Drizzle some olive oil in the cavities and sprinkle with plenty of salt and pepper. Place them, cut-side up, in a baking dish with about two inches of water and bake at 375 degrees for around 40 minutes, depending on the size. I’d recommend checking on it after about 30 minutes to see how soft it is.
Once it’s cool enough to handle, scrape out the soft flesh inside, leaving an inch or so on the skin so that the squash retains its shape, because we’re going to be stuffing it. Reserve the flesh. (Doesn’t “Reserve the Flesh” sound like an awesome name for a metal band? “Hi, we’re Reserve the Flesh and this song is called TOUCH THE WOUND!”)
Anyway. In a big skillet, saute your onion in a bit of oil for a few minutes. Dump in the reserved squash and use a wooden spoon to break it up into little pieces if need be. Add a big, big handful of spinach to wilt and stir for one minute. Add the rice, chickpeas and spices, a little extra salt and pepper and heat through.
Once your stuffing is thoroughly heated and you’ve tasted it six or seven times to get the spices right, remove it from the heat and carefully spoon it back into the two halves of the squash shell. Place them back in the baking dish (without the water) and bake for about 10 minutes, just until everything is nice and hot.
I served this with a spinach and radish salad, which I dug and Rob sneered at. I wish I’d added some sun dried tomatoes or even roasted red peppers to the stuffing, because it just looks so bland, even though it tasted pretty good. Rob was really skeptical of this one…like, really REALLY skeptical but he ended up enjoying it. He gave it 8.5 hot dogs (for the surprise factor!)
February 2nd, 2008 at 3:22 pm
RESERVE THE FLESH
i like how your posts always leave me hungry.
February 2nd, 2008 at 3:45 pm
That looks wonderful. My wife and I eat acorn squash in the fall once or twice each year. That is where the similarities end as I drizzle each half with butter and sprinkle them with brown sugar. We’ve successfully cooked our acorn squash in the microwave in a microwave safe dish (around 8-12 minutes on high, after 8 minutes I keep checking depending on the size of the squash). Then we brown a 1 lb roll of sausage in a skillet and add the scooped-out squash. Acorn squash is SO flavorful and the mixture is heaven on a plate.
February 2nd, 2008 at 5:21 pm
That looks really yummy. Unfortunately, once I was making butternut squash macaroni and cheese. Although the dish was yummy, I was scared to death to cut the squash It rolls around and I’m scared I’m going to cut my hand in half.