Acorn Squash Bowls with Wild Rice
A taste of autumn using acorn squash halves as (mostly) edible bowls filled with wild rice and other flavors, by Dave Utrata.
;)
This recipe is certainly not completely unique. In fact, doing a bit of research for this, I found numerous recipes that make use of winter squash as bowls, and lots of variation on how to stuff acron squash halves. Undeterred, I tried to use my own ideas for flavors I felt went together well. I tried this out on friends and we all enjoyed it. Feel free to make variations to suit your own tastes and whims.
Ingredients
2 Acorn squash, halved, with seeds and pulp removed
1 cup wild rice blend, cooked
½ cup chopped celery
1 tsp savory leaf
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp allspice
¼ cup chopped pecans
3 thin ham slices
3 pineapple rings
Directions
Place acorn squash halves on baking trays; you may need two to fit the squash, depending on their size. My friends and I used 3 halves that fit on one large pan. The 4th was prepared on the side just to have roasted squash. Also note that the volume of the squash-stuffing mix can vary depending on the siz and number of acorns you have. We used 3 rather large halves here.
Mix the spices, nuts and celery together, then blend into the cooked rice. The above amount of ingredients filled these three squash halves almost to overflowing for us, so you may wish to adjust this to fill the number and size of “bowls” you use.
After your squash halves are filled, fold and arrange a slice of ham on each bowl. Top this with a pineapple ring. Cover the squash halves with aluminum foil; you’ll want to keep them moist. Place in the oven at 375oF and cook for about 40 minutes. For a lower temperature, use a longer time. In any case, check the squash so that they’re cooked and tender to taste.
We found this recipe gave a blend of flavors that hinted in a few directions without overpowering a nice earthiness from the pecans, rice and squash. It also had a nice appearance that made dining together more fun. Enjoy!
Dave Utrata;)