Stuffed Squash

  • Level: Easy
  • Yield: 4 servings
  • Total: 1 hr 40 min
  • Prep: 25 min
  • Cook: 1 hr 15 min
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Ingredients

4 small acorn squash, 1 to 1 1/4 pounds each

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

1/2 pound ground pork

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup chopped carrot

1/2 cup white wine

1 1/2 cups cooked rice

1 (10-ounce) package frozen spinach, completely thawed, drained and chopped

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

Generous pinch kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Cut 1-inch off the top of each acorn squash and scoop out the seeds. If necessary in order for the squash to sit upright, cut off a small portion of the bottom. Put 1 of the 4 pieces of butter in the cavity of each squash. Set squash on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Set aside.
  3. In a large saute pan over medium heat, brown the ground pork until no longer pink. Remove the meat from the pan, add the olive oil and saute the onion, celery, and carrot until they begin to soften, approximately 7 to 10 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the white wine.
  4. Return the pork to the pan along with the cooked rice, spinach, pine nuts, oregano and salt and pepper, to taste. Stirring constantly, heat mixture thoroughly, approximately 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Divide the mixture evenly among the squash, top each squash with its lid and bake for 1 hour or until the squash is tender. Serve immediately.

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tbroudy

I've liked this recipe well enough to make it at least four times over the years, including today, and I've served it to happy guests. As someone who LIKES this recipe, I think i have some ideas on how and why some folks complain about it being bland -- it's possible there's a difference in technique:<br />1. The pork MUST be browned -- pursue the Maillard reaction.<br />2. The pine nuts MUST be toasted - heck, I cooked mine in oil on the stove - they need to be brown flavor bombs.<br />3. You need to add enough salt. <br />4. You need to add enough butter - the water and oil, the steam, is an important part of adding flavor. <br /><br /><br /><br />

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