Whole Roasted Stuffed Delicata Squash
from Sam Sifton for NYTimes
Ingredients:
- 6 small delicata squash, about 1 pound each
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- Olive oil, for the baking sheet
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 medium onions, diced
- 1 bunch red (Russian) kale (about 1 pound), trimmed and chopped
- 6 ounces whole-grain bread, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (about 3 cups), from a good-quality loaf
- ½ cup crumbled blue cheese
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup pecans, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, for garnish
Directions:
- Cut 1 inch off the ends of each squash. Use a melon baller or small spoon to scrape out the seeds. Sprinkle the inside of the squash with salt and pepper, then stand them upright on an oiled baking sheet.
- Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a large saucepan set over medium-high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. When it foams, add onions to pan and sauté, stirring frequently, until they begin to soften and turn translucent, approximately 6 to 8 minutes. Add kale to pan and continue to cook, tossing, until kale begins to wilt, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and put vegetables into a large bowl.
- Meanwhile, place bread cubes on a sheet pan and toast in the oven until they begin to crisp on the outside, approximately 7 to 9 minutes. Add bread cubes to the bowl with the vegetables, and then add blue cheese and cranberries. Stir to combine.
- Put pecans in a dry sauté pan set over medium heat and toast the nuts until they begin to darken and turn fragrant, approximately 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in maple syrup and allow to cook for 1 minute. Then scrape into the bowl with the rest of the stuffing and toss to combine. Taste and season the mixture with salt and pepper.
- Lower oven temperature to 400 degrees. Divide the stuffing between the squash. Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into 6 pieces, and top each squash with a dot of butter. Roast squash until the flesh has softened and you can easily pierce it with a fork, approximately 45 minutes. If the squash is browning too quickly, lay a sheet of aluminum foil over the top to prevent burning.
- Sprinkle parsley over the squash. Serve 1 whole squash per person as a main course, or 1/2 squash or less as a side dish.
You could use any winter squash for this recipe, but the delicata, with its unique shape and color, makes a beautiful presentation as a main course.
Don’t forget to visit our recipe archive for more recipes (vegetarian or not) to be thankful for.