There is a cute little farm in the town I grew up in that, among many other things, has the most gorgeous squash. After receiving a suggestion to visit this place, I stopped by this farm stand where I was able to purchase a locally raised free range chicken, onions, potatoes, acorn squash, spaghetti squash, blue hubbard squash, butternut squash and two varieties of acorn squash I have never had – baked potato squash and mashed potato squash. These varieties, as their names suggest, have a white flesh that is less sweet than other squash varieties and seemingly a bit more starchy making them comparable to a potato. I am a potato lover so I of course had to try both of these and they were great!
If you are not able to find a baked potato squash, this recipe would be equally as amazing with the ever popular and easy to locate acorn squash.
Savory Stuffed Squash
Makes 4 Servings
Ingredients:
1 Baked Potato or Acorn Squash
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Bunch Tuscan Kale
1 Sweet Onion
1/3 Cup Blue Cheese
1/3 Cup Chopped Pecans
Salt
Black Pepper
Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
- Wash and dry the two squash. Using a sharp knife, cut each squash in half length wise. Scoop out the seeds with a metal spoon and place the squash cut side up on a baking sheet.
- Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the two halves and use clean hands or a basting brush to distribute the oil evenly. Season with salt and pepper and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until the flesh is able to be easily pierced with a fork. If you’re pressed for time and waiting for the squash to bake isn’t your thing, you can also check out this 10 minute microwave cooking version which is just a quick and easy shortcut!
- Peel the onion and cut it in half. Lay the cut side of each half down and slice the onion into 1/8 inch or so pieces. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat and add the onion. Season with salt a pinch of salt and some black pepper and stir to coat. Allow the onion to cook, stirring occasionally until it become soft and translucent, about 10 minutes.
- While the onion is cooking, wash your kale and peel or cut the leaves away from the hard stem, discarding the stem (or saving it for stock).
- Stack the leaves on your cutting board horizontally and begin to slice them vertically creating short little ribbons. Add the kale to the cooked down onions and stir. Allow the kale to cook for 5 minutes or until it has wilted and is soft. Turn the heat off and stir in the pecans and blue cheese.
- Divide the filling equally amongst the squash halves and place in the 400 degree oven to bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove the squash and cut each half in half again before serving.
If the delicious taste wasn’t reason enough, a serving of acorn squash contains about 1/3 of the daily value of fiber and is full of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, B Vitamins, Magnesium, Potassium and Manganese. On top of that, kale is incredibly rich in Vitamins A, K, C as well as Manganese.
