Though this can be enjoyed at any time, it’s got all the festive flavours of the holidays stuffed into a cute acorn squash!
Courtesy of Lauren Toyota and John Diemer for hot for food blog.
ingredients
Stuffed Acorn Squash
Red Wine Cranberry Sauce
directions
Preheat oven to 400ºF. Cut the acorn squashes in half. Scoop out the seeds and flesh and save the seeds to make a toasted garnish (instructions to follow).
Melt vegan butter and mix with maple syrup. Using about half of this mixture, brush it onto each half of the fleshy part of the squash. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Save the rest of the butter mixture to roast the seeds and to cook the stuffing. Bake the squash, flesh side up, in a dish or on a foiled baking sheet for 40 minutes until soft and golden brown. Baste the squash with a brush half way through baking with the butter pooled in the middle.
Clean off the seeds and toss them in 2 tsp of the melted butter and maple syrup mixture and add a little salt and pepper to taste. Put them on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake them in the oven alongside the squash for approximately 15-20 minutes until brown and toasted.
While the squash is baking, bring the rice, water, and sea salt to a boil. Once boiling, cover the pot and let it simmer for approximately 35 minutes until all the water is absorbed. Then remove from the heat and leave covered while you make the rest of the stuffing.
Heat a pan to medium and add the remaining vegan butter/maple syrup mixture and finely chopped red onion. Sauté the red onion for 2 minutes then stir in cinnamon and nutmeg and cook for another 2 minutes.
Then stir in corn and red pepper and turn the heat to medium-high to start getting some nice caramelizing on the corn and pepper. Stir-fry this mixture for another 3-4 minutes.
Then stir in finely chopped kale and minced garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
Then lower the heat to medium-low and add in the rice. Combine everything and then stir in tahini. Taste the stuffing and add sea salt and pepper to your taste. Once everything is mixed thoroughly remove the rice stuffing from the heat.
At this point your squash are baked so you can turn the oven off and stuff the rice mixture into the centre of each squash and leave them in the oven to stay warm while you make the red wine cranberry sauce.
In a sauce pan over medium heat combine all the ingredients and allow it to reduce and thicken, whisking frequently. It should take approximately 10 minutes.
Pour 1-2 tbsp of sauce over each stuffed squash and garnish with the toasted seeds.