Stuffed Acorn Squash
This vegan stuffed squash is an elegant, healthy, and nourishing dinner. It is great any time of the year, but lends itself well to the fall and winter months because of the inclusion of winter squash. Bursting with delicate flavors, this is a perfect vegan-friendly option for a dinner party!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 55-60 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
2 acorn squash*
225g or 8oz baby bella or porcini mushrooms
3/4 cup uncooked brown rice
1 cup dry white wine (Sauvignon blanc or Pinot Grigio)
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock*
3 shallots or 1 medium onion
2 stalks celery
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
Small bunch of fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley
Small bunch of fresh sage
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp rubbed sage
1/4 tsp dried rosemary
Few tbsp of freshly squeezed lemon juice
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F or 205°C.
Cut the acorn squash in half and scoop out the seeds.
Place the 4 squash halves on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive, salt, and black pepper.
Roast the squash in preheated oven for 45 minutes.
While the squash is roasting you can prep the rice and then the filling.
Put 3/4 cup of brown rice in a pot with 1 1/2 cups of vegetable stock and the fresh sage stems. If you are using a rice cooker add the rice and sage stems and adjust the liquid level to suit your rice cooker’s cooking requirements for brown rice.
Allow the rice to cook.
Heat a pan on the stove on medium-high heat.
Drizzle a little olive oil into the pan, and once the oil is shimmering add the chopped mushrooms to the pan, and allow the mushrooms to release their liquid and begin to brown.
Once the mushrooms are browned, add the chopped shallot, celery, and finely minced parsley stems to the pan.
Sauté the aromatics until softened.
Season with salt, pepper, dried sage, dried thyme, dried rosemary, and garlic powder. Mix it all in and allow to sauté for another 30 seconds to a minute.
Deglaze the pan with wine, making sure to scrape up all the brown bits. Those brown bits are called the fond and they are full of flavor.
Let the white wine reduce until it is half gone, then add the chopped sage and cook for a couple more minutes.
At this point turn off the heat and add the cooked rice (discarding the sage stems), chopped walnuts, cranberries, and some chopped parsley to the pan.
Taste for seasoning and adjust salt and pepper if needed.
Remove roasted squash halves and fill them with the rice filling.
Put the filled squash halves back in the oven and bake them for another 10-15 minutes.
Garnish stuffed squash with more chopped walnuts, fresh parsley, and an optional squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
Enjoy!
Additional Notes:
*You can substitute acorn squash with delicata squash, sweet dumpling squash, kabocha squash, sugar pumpkin, or any other type of winter squash you wish to use.
*If you are cooking your rice in a rice cooker adjust the liquid level to suit your rice cooker.
