WILD RICE STUFFED ACORN SQUASH WITH FETA, CRANBERRIES & PECANS
Everyone knows that edible bowls are FUN but, bearing in mind that most edible bowls are either bread or some fried shell, it’s also a bad choice from a nutritional standpoint. Choosing squash as an edible bowl is an elegant solution – you get the fun of eating your dish, minus the carb-overloading.
When picking a squash for filling and baking, acorn squash is always my go-to. I love its deep orange coloured flesh and the fact that you can eat the skin.
The healthy combination of nutty wild rice, crunchy pecans, creamy goat cheese and dried sour cherries makes this stuffed acorn squash nourishing, filling and simply delicious!
Ingredients
80 g basmati rice
80 g wild rice
2 acorn squash
3 tbsps olive oil
2 tbsps brown sugar
70 g pecans
1 onion chopped finely
2 cloves garlic minced finely
3 twigs thyme
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
60 g dried sour cherries or cranberries
120 g goat cheese crumbled, or feta
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Prepare the rice following the instructions on the package, drain and let cool.
Preheat the oven to 190 Celsius.
Cut squash crosswise in half; remove and discard seeds. Cut a thin slice from bottom of each half to allow them to lie flat. Place the acorn squash on baking sheets, hollow side up and brush the inside with olive oil
Sprinkle the inside with sugar, salt and pepper and bake for 45 minutes until tender.
Prepare the filling in the meantime. Toast the pecans in a pan without fat, let cool and chop.
Heat 2 tbsps of oil in a pan on medium-high heat. Add chopped onions and fry for 3 minutes until softened. Add garlic along with the thyme leaves and fry for another minute.
Add all ground spices and fry for 30 seconds, add cooked rice, dried cherries and nuts and season with salt and pepper.
Remove the baked squash from the oven and fill with the rice filling, adding a 1 tsp of crumbled cheese after every 3 tbsp of rice filling.
Press the filling into the squash with the back of a spoon to pack it firmly and drizzle some olive oil on top.
Return filled squash to the oven for 30 more minutes. Serve sprinkled with cheese.
Recipe Notes
The rice filling can be prepared up to 2 days in advance.