I love winter squash. This is a very nice festive dish that could be a vegetarian main dish. I like to pick through the acorns in the grocery story and get the smaller ones so that each person has their own half otherwise it is too much for one person, especially as a side dish. It would be fine as a main dish. If you have smaller squash this stuffing will make 4 halves.
1 whole Acorn Squash, Cut In Half Lengthwise
or 2 smaller squash
2 teaspoons Brown Sugar
2 teaspoons Butter
Stuffing
1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
½ cup Celery, Diced
2 T. grated onion
1 whole Tart Apple, Peeled, Cored, And Diced
½ teaspoons Dried Thyme
1/4 -1/2 teaspoons Curry Powder as per your curry taste
¼ teaspoon Cinnamon
¼ cup Dried Cranberries
1/4 C. chopped toasted pecans or walnuts (optional)
½ cup Chicken Stock
2 slices of sturdy bread (Artisan Type)
Salt To Taste
Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste
Preparation Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Scrape seeds and stringy flesh from squash. Place squash in a baking dish, cut sides up. Pour 1/2 inch of water in the bottom of the dish. Put one teaspoon butter and one teaspoon brown sugar in each half.
3. Place in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until it is almost fork tender.
4. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet and add the celery, onion, apples, thyme, curry, and cinnamon. Cook until softened. Remove skillet from heat and set aside.
5. Place cubed bread on a baking sheet and set next to the squash in the oven. Bake for about 10 minutes..
6. Add cranberries, nuts and the toasted bread to the skillet mixture and gently stir to combine. While stirring, slowly add the chicken broth. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Fill the squash with stuffing and place back into oven for 15 more minutes or until the squash is tender.
