Harvest Stuffed Acorn Squash

Ingredients

• 3 Acorn squash, halved, seeded
• 4 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup Wild rice (dry), rinsed
• 3 cups Low-sodium vegetable broth
• 12 oz Cremini mushrooms, chopped
• 1 Yellow onion, diced
• 2 stalks Celery, diced
• 1 Apples, diced
• 3 cloves Garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp Fresh sage, chopped
• 1 tbsp Fresh thyme
• ½ cup Pecans, toasted, chopped
• ⅜ cup Dried cranberries
• ½ cup Apple cider
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• ½ tsp Black pepper
• ¼ cup Flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Method

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Rub the cut faces of the squash with 2 tbsp oil and salt, lay them cut-side down on a sheet pan, and roast 35-40 minutes until a knife slides into the flesh with no resistance. Cut-side down is what caramelises the rims.
2. Meanwhile simmer the wild rice in the broth, covered, 45 minutes until the grains split open. Drain any excess.
3. Brown the mushrooms in 2 tbsp oil over medium-high, undisturbed for 4 minutes, then tossing. Add onion and celery; cook 8 minutes. Add apple, garlic, sage and thyme for 2 minutes more.
4. Pour in the cider and let it cook away almost completely, scraping the pan. Fold in the rice, pecans, cranberries, salt and pepper.
5. Flip the squash halves, mound the filling in, and return to the oven for 12 minutes.
6. Finish with parsley. Serve each person half a squash — it looks like a plated course because it is one.

Notes

✨ The restaurant touch

Fry 8 whole sage leaves in olive oil for 20 seconds until translucent and crisp, and lay two on each half. It takes a minute and it is the thing people photograph.

🧒 For the kids

Kids often want the squash plain. Scoop out a half, mash it with a little maple, and serve the filling on the side as 'rice with cranberries in it'.

🌿 From the garden

Acorn squash stores until February in a cool room. Sage is a perennial here and will be waiting for you every autumn.

🥡 Leftovers

Filling and squash both keep 4 days. Reheat covered at 350°F. The filling is excellent stirred into eggs.

Per serving

Computed from USDA FoodData Central values. A planning tool, not medical advice.