Fall brings us a wonderful variety of gourds in every shape and size. Visiting one of our local farm shops, I was intrigued by the beautiful variegated dusty green-orange colouring of the Buttercup squash.
Jamie Oliver’s Christmas cookbook provided some inspiration. His Roasted Squash uses a Butternut Squash, which he stuffs with a rice mixture and then roasts in the oven. I decided to roast these little beauties without stuffing them first, as they are smaller than a Butternut squash, with a more delicate flavour. The flesh is tender and sweet, its flavour enhanced with the roasting.
After cooking the rice, I sauteed a small yellow onion and a chopped celery stalk in a large skillet, then added some white wine, chopped vacuum-packed chestnuts, dried cranberries and chopped pecans.
By the time I was finished preparing the stuffing, the squash halves were done.
One bottom half filled with the rice mixture was plenty of food for one main course portion, but the top looked so pretty I laid it alongside for the presentation.
Oh, abundant fall! So much good food.
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Roasted Buttercup Squash Stuffed with Wild Rice, Chestnuts and Cranberries
Ingredients
- 2 small buttercup or acorn squashes
- 100 g or ½ c rice mix (I used black, brown, wild and red rice blend)
- 30 ml or 2 tbsp olive oil
- 100 g yellow onion, finely diced (1 small onion)
- 75 g celery, diced (1 large stalk)
- 3 g or 1 tsp minced garlic
- 30 g fresh sage (1 small bunch)
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 125 ml or ½ c white wine
- 100 g or 1 c dried cranberries
- 100 g or ¾ c chopped pecans
- 100 g or ¾ c vacuum-packed chestnuts, chopped
Instructions
- Arrange a rack in the centre of the oven; preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Scrub the squashes clean. Carefully cut it in half widthwise (across the equator); remove and discard the seeds. Rub the skin of the squash with a little oil, salt and pepper. Place cut side down on the prepared baking sheet and roast until tender but not collapsing. (45-60 minutes).
- In a medium pot over high heat, bring 2 c of water to a boil. Add the rice and simmer until tender, but still firm (25-30 minutes). Drain.
- In a large skillet, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the onion until it’s translucent (3–5 minutes). Add the garlic, celery and sage; continue to sauté until soft and fragrant (2-3 minutes). Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Add the white wine, rice, cranberries, pecans and chestnuts. Sauté until the cranberries are softened and the wine has largely evaporated (10 minutes). Adjust the seasonings
- Place the squash bottoms in two separate shallow bowls or one medium platter; divide the rice mixture between them. Serve with the squash tops angled to the side of each squash bottom.
Notes
Serves two with abundant leftovers.
Adapted from Jamie Oliver’s Christmas Cookbook.
