Stuffed Winter Squash + Quinoa, Cranberry & Pistachio

This is the time for winter squashes and all their wonderful flavors. These stuffed squashes would make for a pretty presentation on any holiday table, or simply enjoy anytime during the season for a flavorful and filling meal. This recipe can be dressed up fancy or kept simple, depending on your mood or occasion. Keep it to a few ingredients while adding more to add complexity to the dish. I've made this with just six ingredients (squash, quinoa, cranberries, pistachios, oil and salt) and it was great, adding a few other components give it more depth and flavor. This recipe is more of a template for you to create a quinoa stuffing to your liking. I encourage you to play around with the ingredients adjusting to your personal tastes. 

I decided to do both the acorn and delicata squash with this because they both work so well here. You can use one or the other, or both for variation at the table. I love the delicata squash because the skin is edible. The acorn squash on the other hand may have a tougher, and possibly bitter, skin making it less likely that you'll be able to eat it but it does make for a great bowl. So either way, they both are great and can cook together if doing both. 

Quinoa is my favorite grain, well technically it's a seed but can be prepared like a grain. It's a complete protein, full of fiber and a good source of calcium, magnesium and iron making it a great alternative to grains. And it's gluten free. It's perfect for those on a plant based diet and those seeking nutritionally dense foods. Served warm or cool, quinoa tastes great and is such a versatile grain. Here I used a blend of pearl and tri-colored quinoa. I like blending the two so there is just a few specks of the darker quinoa.

Add in some festive colors from the pistachios and cranberries and this dish is as appealing looking as it is good, and good for you!

Stuffed Winter Squash + Quinoa, Cranberry & Pistachio

Ingredients

• 2 large or 3 small acorn or delicata squash
• maple syrup
• olive oil
• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed well 
• 1 3/4  cup water
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup pistachios
• 2 tablespoons finely minced shallot, optional
• mineral salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
• juice of 1 lemon

add complexity to the quinoa by adding one or more of the following to suit your taste:

• pinch red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley (if your a mint fan, try 1/4 cup fresh mint)
• 1 - 2 teaspoons fresh thyme 
• drizzle of olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Wash and dry squash. Slice each squash in half lengthwise, remove seeds. The seeds should come out easily by scraping the inside of the squash with a spoon. Lightly brush the inside of each squash with a little oil and/or maple syrup. sprinkle with a bit of mineral salt. Place on baking sheet cut side up. Bake in oven for 35 - 40 minutes, or until squash is tender and pierces easily with a fork.

While squash is cooking add 1 3/4 cup water and 1 cup quinoa to a medium size pot. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove lid and let set 15 minutes. Add pistachios, cranberries, shallots, salt, juice of lemon, and any other optional ingredients. Toss to combine.

Scoop quinoa into squash halves, place back in the oven for 10 minutes to warm if needed, and serve.

Notes: 

For the quinoa I used a blend of 1/2 cup white and 1/2 cup tri-color quinoa. Feel free to use all of one type or mix and match to your preference.

Seek out organic cranberries if possible. Unsweetened is best but can be hard to find. The ones I have here are from Trader Joe's which are organic but sweetened.

Enjoy!

Stuffed Acorn Squash + Wild Rice Medley

If you've never had a stuffed acorn squash, you really should give it a try. They are just so good and surprisingly filling. I love them unstuffed too with simple seasonings, but this is a tasty and satisfying meal with a good nutritional profile. I'm a big eater and one of these filled me up. Not too hard to put together either. It does take three separate cooking sections but it comes together pretty smoothly, unless your like me...the burner on the rice went out without me knowing so I had to add an additional 45 min onto my cooking time. But no harm done...there were dishes to do and cleaning around the house to keep my mind busy and off the mishap. All in all it's fairly easy, the rice and squash cook themselves, so the vegetables are the only real work which isn't much. This is also one of those recipes that can be tailored to your preference of veggies or beans. To top it all off, you just gotta love eating out of an acorn squash...it's pretty fun!

Start by slicing your acorn squash and scraping out the seeds. The seeds scrape out very easily with a sharper edged spoon. Here you can either brush your acorn squash with a little olive oil or leave it out. I go either way as I don't find it makes too much of a difference, so it just depends on how I'm feeling if I want to add extra oil to the meal. Sprinkle with fresh or dried thyme leaves and mineral salt. You can even add a few fresh thyme sprigs inside each squash, just remove before eating. Cook until fork tender.

Cook your rice and set aside. Prepare your vegetables and add in the rice once done. 

Fill your acorn squashes and serve! 

Stuffed Acorn Squash + Wild Rice Medley

Ingredients

Acorn Squash

• 3 acorn squashes, cut in half lengthwise and seeded
• 1 1/2 teaspoons thyme, divided
• sea salt

Wild Rice Medley

• 1 cup rice, dry (I used half black wild rice and half long grain brown rice)
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small red bell pepper, diced
• 1 large shallot or small onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups mushrooms, sliced
• 2 large handfuls greens (I used a 5 oz. combo package of baby kale, baby chard and baby spinach)
• 1 can cannellini beans (15 oz), drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
• sea salt and cracked pepper to taste

sriracha or hot sauce, to taste as garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In an oven proof sauce pan, fill half way with water and place on the bottom rack (this will give a little steam to your squash). Cut and seed your squash, place on baking sheet with cut side up. Season each squash with about 1/4 teaspoon thyme along with a few twists of the mineral salt grinder. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until tender...knife should easily pierce the flesh.

Cook your rice according to package. Wild rice will take about the same time as the squash to cook, about 40-45 min. (Quinoa or quinoa/rice combo would be great too and add even more protein per serving.)

Once the squash and rice are cooked, set aside to cool and begin with the vegetables.

In large wok or saute pan, heat oil on medium heat. Add shallots, garlic and bell peppers, saute for about three minutes. Add mushrooms, beans, one tablespoon thyme, red pepper flakes, a few twists of salt and pepper, cook for another three minutes. Add leafy greens, stir frequently until they are wilted (you may also want to use a cover in between stirring to help soften the greens). Combine rice and sauteed vegetables in the larger of the two pots. Taste for seasoning adding additional salt and pepper as needed.

Scoop mixture into each acorn squash half and serve with any additional seasonings. I like to top mine with some sriracha for that extra heat and flavor I love so much. So very good with this meal. Serves six, or three for the hearty eaters.

Store leftovers in an air tight container in fridge for up to a week.

Enjoy!