Acorn Squash with Quinoa, Apricot and Sage Stuffing

Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

You are probably wondering what the heck I was thinking when I chose quinoa stuffed squash as one of this week's recipes. This is clearly a fall/winter dish but when I found the recipe, it sounded tasty and I envisioned that it would be visually fun to prepare. Also, it hasn't exactly been consistently spring-like here in Seattle so I figured the seasonality of the dish didn't really matter. The only wrench it threw into the mix is that the recipe actually calls for buttercup squash but buttercup is not available this time of year. The recipe did however, offer carnival, delicata and acorn varieties as alternatives. I ended up choosing acorn squash because it has the most beautiful color and shape.

Ingredients:

2 small acorn squashes

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for rubbing squash

1 cup quinoa

1 1/2 cups water or vegetable stock

pinch of sea salt

6 shallots, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

6 dried apricots, chopped

2 Tbsp freshly chopped sage

2 Tbsp freshly chopped parsley, plus whole sprigs for serving

1 Tbsp mirin

zest of 1 lemon

2 Tbsp lemon juice

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup toasted sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wash squash and cut in half or quarters, depending on desired serving size. Scoop out and discard seeds, rub skins with olive oil and place open-side down on parchment-lined baking pan. Roast 25 minutes or until soft throughout. Turn off heat, but leave squash in oven to stay warm until ready to serve.

Meanwhile, combine quinoa in pot or rice cooker with water or vegetable stock and salt. Place over high heat and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until liquid is absorbed (about 15 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside, but do not fluff yet.

In Dutch oven over medium heat, saute shallots and celery in 1 Tbsp olive oil until soft. Add apricots, sage, parsley and mirin and saute 3 minutes longer. Fluff quinoa and fold into shallot mixture. Add lemon zest and juice and remaining tablespoon olive oil and saute 3 minutes longer or until heated through. Remove quinoa from heat and squash from oven. Fill individual squash boats with stuffing, garnish with toasted almonds and parsley sprigs to serve.

I chose to serve this dish with pan roasted pork loin, which was a lovely combination. Olivia really liked the squash and pork but didn't eat much of the quinoa. Brad thought the stuffed squash was light but filling and that the apricots, sage and squash created unique flavors. I also really enjoyed the flavors in this dish. I tend to love sage stuffing so I appreciated that the recipe incorporated such a traditional stuffing ingredient. I also thought the toasted almonds were a nice touch. They added a crunchy texture and the nuttiness complimented the squash (although as a side note, it takes watching almonds like a hawk to keep them from burning while toasting). My favorite part of this recipe however, was the aesthetic appeal. This is one of the prettiest dishes I have plated since I started my cooking project. Serving such a visually pleasing dish definitely catered to my creative side. Very cool indeed.