🍁A Perfect🍂🌻Autumn🐿🍂 Bite🍁
Filling a vegetable with more vegetables? And everything is baked in and served in natures own, perfect vegetable bowl? What’s not to love 💕? Acorn Squash Stuffed with so much great stuff!
Here’s a recipe that I’ve adapted a bit from a 👩🏻🍳 Martha Stewart recipe. The combination of ingredients in this recipe is so delish! But if you like different fillings, go ahead and change it up to make it your own. There are a million ways to stuff an acorn squash, just give it a go! Acorn Squash Stuffed with Quinoa, Kale, Pine Nuts and Dried Cranberries, doesn’t that sound like 🍁 autumn on a 🍽 plate?
The combination of the slight crunch from the quinoa and the creaminess of the white beans is irresistible. I put this into the category of “the perfect bite“. It’s Bitter, Salty, Sour and Sweet!
My Garden Pop Up Surprise 🎉
One of my very favorite varieties of squash is acorn. They’re beautiful and taste so good. This year, I had a surprise pop-up acorn squash plant. I hadn’t planted one this year, for some reason. Late in the season I was watering my 👩🏻🌾 garden and noticed some plants that looked like they were thriving, without any love and care from me. How could that be 💁🏻♀️?
Every year it seems, something unplanned starts growing somewhere in our yard. Usually because I threw weeds and other debris from the 🐓 chickens and my garden under some 🌳 tree instead of the compost or trash. I usually do find some kind of wonderful 🎉 growing surprise. This year, acorn squash.
The Recipe – 🍁 Acorn Squash Stuffed with Quinoa, Kale, Beans, Pine Nuts and Dried Cranberries
Preheat your oven to 400°, Cut 2 medium to large acorn squash in half and remove the seeds and the mess from the center and discard (or throw them under and tree and hope you get a surprise next year!) Lightly top with olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
Roast
Roast cut side down on a baking sheet covered with parchment or foil for 30 minutes, until fork tender. Remove from oven, set aside.
While the squash is roasting, prepare the filling
Chop 1 large onion and mince 3 cloves of garlic. Wash a whole bunch of kale and remove all the veins and chop. Cook the quinoa according to the package directions and set aside. Chop 2 teaspoons fresh sage and 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves.
In a small pan, toast 1/4 cup pine nuts until golden brown and aromatic, about 2 minutes on medium high heat. Be careful as they do burn very quickly. Remove from heat and set aside.
Saute
In a medium size pan on medium high heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil until hot. Add 1 large, chopped onion and 3 cloves of minced garlic, about 1 tablespoon. Saute until the onions are translucent and just starting to brown. Add sage, thyme, 1 can of white beans that have been drained and rinsed, 1/2 cup cooked quinoa and the chopped kale and 1/4 cup dried cranberries. add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, mix well. Cook about 3 minutes until heated through.
Zest one large lemon, and add the zest to the mixture, then cut the lemon into quarters, set the quarters aside for serving.
Bake
Fill each acorn squash half with the filling, then return squash to the baking sheet and then to the oven and bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven and then drizzle each half with a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of fresh lemon and top with the toasted pine nuts . For a non-vegan option, top with goat cheese when it comes out of the oven, then the olive oil and lemon.
Enjoy!
goat cheese adds another layer of flavor for a non vegan option
Acorn Squash Stuffed with Quinoa, Kale, Pine Nuts and Dried Cranberries
Notes
Another option - top with a perfectly poached egg!
Leftover stuffing? Have it for breakfast with a poached egg.
Ingredients
- 2 medium acorn squash
- olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons freshly chopped sage
- 2 teaspoons freshly chopped thyme leaves
- 1 can 15 ounces white beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup quinoa, cooked according to package directions
- 1 bunch kale, cleaned and stems removed
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
- 1 lemon, zested, then quartered
- 1 teaspoon teaspoon salt, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
Non-vegan option - 4 ounces goat cheese
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°, Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds and the insides from the center and discard. Lightly top with olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Roast cut side down on a baking sheet covered with parchment or foil for 30 minutes, until fork tender. Remove from oven, set aside.
- Chop 1 large onion and mince 3 cloves of garlic. Wash the Kale and remove all the large veins and chop. Cook the quinoa according to the package directions and set aside. Chop 2 teaspoons fresh sage and 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves. In a small pan, toast 1/4 cup pine nuts until golden brown and aromatic, about 2 minutes on medium high heat. Be careful as they do burn very quickly. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In a medium size pan on medium high heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil until hot. Add 1 chopped onion and minced garlic. Saute until the onions are translucent and just starting to brown. Add sage, thyme, beans, quinoa and kale and dried cranberries, Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, mix well. Cook about 3 minutes until heated through. Add lemon zest, mix well and remove from the heat.
- Fill each acorn squash half with the filling, then return squash to the baking sheet and then to the oven and bake 15 minutes. Remove from oven and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of fresh lemon and toasted pine nuts.
