November 3, 2011

Apple-stuffed acorn squash

I'm continuing my quest to post more vegetable side dishes (and this one just happens to be acorn squash again). The recipe actually stems from a squash dish my husband made for me a few times when we were dating. I remember we had it one Christmas Eve dinner with some family and friends and it was a big hit. It was a small dinner and we made an half of a squash for each person. It's a nice side dish because everyone gets their own individual half - it's cute and they are very good. I think these would also make a nice Thanksgiving side dish, but only if you had a small gathering - it would be difficult to do a whole bunch of these at one time (unless you had a second oven, which is unlikely). I made this dish recently for my husband and I along with some pecan-crusted chicken. I added some spices like cayenne and cinnamon so that they weren't overly sweet. I think this was the first time I made them myself, but we liked my version, too. This recipe is for one acorn squash, which will serve two people. 

Apple-stuffed acorn squash
1 acorn squash halved lengthwise with seeds and strings removed
1 apple, peeled, cored and diced
juice of half a lemon
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons finely chopped pecans (or walnuts)
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the squash, skin side down, into a deep baking dish. If the squash are wobbly, you can cut a bit of the skin/flesh off to create a flat surface for them to sit on.

In a medium bowl, stir together the stuffing ingredients (apples through maple syrup). Divide the apple mixture evenly between the two squash halves. Top each squash with even amounts of the butter pieces.

Bake for approximately 30-40 minutes, until the squash is fork tender. 


What was I cooking one year ago?: pumpkin cheesecake tart in a ginger snap crust and maple roasted turnips

2 comments:

  1. This looks really good. I am planning to do some sort of stuffed little pumpkins or squash for Thanksgiving...I like the idea of using apples in the filling ;)

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  2. I'm a HUGE fan of stuffed squash and I lvoe the idea of stuffing it with a fall fruit! They do say that fruits and veggies that come into season together taste well together...guess that's true!

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