Stuffed Squash
Inspired by Lidey Heuck’s New York Times Cooking Recipe
This is surprisingly easy and so good! I know that stuffing winter squash is kind of a “normal” run, but, I tell you what, it is worth revisiting. I used the Jester and the sweetness of the squash played so well off the savoriness of the stuffing. Pretty easy, pretty quick and so warming and delicious! I made 1 squash (for 2 people) but then had extra stuffing so tossed it with some pasta.
Ingredients
1 medium acorn squash
Olive oil to brush on the squash
lard to cook with
Kosher salt and black pepper
1/2 onion, chopped
dried herbs to taste: thyme, oregano, sage, basil (whatever you’ve got)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2-1 bunch kale, chopped
1 pound ground pork sausage (don’t be afraid to remove the casings)
Generous pinch of ground nutmeg
2 glugs of wine (red or white)
1 cup cooked white or brown rice, or farro or wheatberries (I used leftover rice pilaf)
grated Parmesan
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400 degrees. Carefully halve cut each squash in half through the stem, removing the stem if still attached. Scoop out and discard the seeds, and place the squash halves on a sheet pan, cut-side up. (You may want to trim the bottom of the squash halves slightly so they don’t wobble on the pan.) Brush each squash generously with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until the flesh is very tender when pierced with a knife, 35 to 40 minutes.
- Add a scoop of lard to the skillet and heat over medium-low. Add the onions and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until translucent. Add the dried herbs and garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring often, until the garlic is fragrant. Add the kale and cook, tossing, just until it begins to wilt.
- Raise the heat to medium-high and add the sausage, nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Cook, crumbling the sausage with a wooden spoon as it cooks, until no longer pink, about 6 minutes. Add the wine and cook, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until about half the liquid has evaporated. Remove the skillet from the heat.
- Add the rice to the sausage and mix until combined. Divide the sausage mixture among the squash halves, filling each one to the top. (Depending on the size of the squash cavities, you may need to slightly heap the filling.) Return the sheet pan to the oven to roast for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the filling is heated through and starting to brown on top. Sprinkle with parmesan when done.
