Middle Eastern Stuffed Acorn Squash Food

MOROCCAN-STYLE STUFFED ACORN SQUASHES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place squashes, cut sides down, in a 9-by-13-inch casserole dish. Bake until tender, 35 to 40 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a 4-quart pot with a tight-fitting lid over medium-high heat. Add ground beef, a pinch each cinnamon and nutmeg, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until browned and cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer beef to a bowl or plate using a slotted spoon, keeping as much cooking liquid in the pot as possible.
• Add onion, and cook until slightly translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add remaining teaspoon salt and the bulgur, and stir to combine. Add water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork, and add reserved beef, the raisins, parsley, and pine nuts.
• Scrape out baked squashes, forming 1/4-inch-thick bowls, and fold flesh into bulgur mixture. Divide among squash halves, and return to oven. Bake until warmed through and tops are browned, 12 to 14 minutes.

ACORN SQUASH WITH MIXED-GRAIN STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Brush a baking sheet with oil. Mix together 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, cumin, and coriander; sprinkle inside of squashes with spice mixture. Place squashes on sheet, cut-sides down, and roast until just tender, about 20 minutes.
• Turn cut-sides up and fill with stuffing, mounding slightly (you should use about 3/4 cup in each squash half). These can be made ahead and refrigerated, covered, up to 1 day; bring to room temperature before baking. Bake, covered with parchment-lined foil, until heated through, about 15 minutes. Serve, with relish and sprinkled with toasted almonds and parsley.

MOROCCAN-STYLE STUFFED ACORN SQUASH

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Arrange squash halves cut side down on a baking sheet. Bake 30 minutes, or until tender. Dissolve the sugar in the melted butter. Brush squash with the butter mixture, and keep squash warm while preparing the stuffing.
• Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, celery, and carrots, and cook 5 minutes. Mix in the garbanzo beans and raisins. Season with cumin, salt, and pepper, and continue to cook and stir until vegetables are tender.
• Pour the chicken broth into the skillet, and mix in the couscous. Cover skillet, and turn off heat. Allow couscous to absorb liquid for 5 minutes. Stuff squash halves with the skillet mixture to serve.

LEBANESE STUFFED KOUSA SQUASH

Steps:

• To hollow out the kousa, trim off the top and use a zucchini core to slowly remove the inside of the squash. Be careful not to poke through the bottom or the sides. Once the squash is hollowed out, set aside.
• In a medium bowl, combine beef, rinsed uncooked rice, salt, and pepper. Add half of the garlic (3 grated cloves) and half of the mint (1 tablespoon) to the meat mixture and combine.
• Before you start stuffing the squash, place the tomato juice or tomato paste/water mixture in a large pot, and heat on medium high until boiling.
• While the tomato juice is heating up, begin stuffing the kousa. Be careful to leave about 1 1/2 inch at the top which allows room for them to expand. If you have leftover meat mixture, simply roll them into little meatballs, and add to the tomato broth.
• When the tomato juice has come to a boil, add the remaining mint (1 tablespoon) and garlic (3 grated cloves) as well as the lemon juice.
• If you used tomato paste/water, add salt and pepper to the broth to taste.
• Gently add in the stuffed kousa. Bring to a boil then turn to low and simmer for 35 minutes. The meatballs are the perfect way to see if the rice is fully cooked.
• Serve in a bowl with plain yogurt on the side.

SPICY, LEBANESE LAMB-STUFFED SQUASH

Steps:

• Cook squash in microwave or Cut a thin slice off the bottom of each squash half, if necessary, so that it will stand without wobbling. Place squash, hollow side up, in a shallow baking pan. Add 1/4 cup water, cover with foil. Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes Squash should be just tender, not soft.
• Meanwhile prepare filling. Brown lamb with olive oil in a large heavy skillet over high heat.
• Reduce heat to med. and add onions, stir fry for 5 minutes Add all remaining ingredients except rice and tomato sauce.
• Turn heat to low and let simmer 10-15 mins., until currants plump and flavors mingle.
• Mix in rice, recover and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Stir in tomato sauce and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.
• Drain squash on paper towel and brush lightly with 1 tablespoon soft margarine. Mound filling into each hollow.Arrange squash on a cookie sheet or baking pan. Bake at 350 for 30 min or until stuffing and squash are heated through. (I usually skip the baking & just serve it up when stuffing is done).
• Can also be stuffed and refrigerated then heated for about 45 minutes.

MIDDLE EASTERN STUFFED ACORN SQUASH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Cut the acorn squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and strings. Place squash cut side down in a shallow baking dish and fill with 1/4" of water. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the flesh is easily pierced with a fork.
• In the meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan on medium heat, whisking constantly. Watch closely as brown flecks begin to appear. As soon as the butter turns a caramel brown color and has a nutty fragrance (this should take between 4-6 minutes; do not allow the butter to turn black), remove from the heat and transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in the olive oil, cinnamon and cardamom. Note: Can add additional spices, like ground coriander, ground cumin, red or black pepper.
• Add the 1 1/3 cup water and quinoa to the same saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 17 minutes. Remove from the heat and fluff with a fork.
• Toss 2 cups of the quinoa with the seasoned brown butter, cashews, apricots and mint. Cover the quinoa mixture to keep it warm if the squash needs more time to finish baking.
• Equally divide the quinoa filling among the four squash halves. Serve immediately. Refrigerate leftovers for up to 2 days.

FONIO-STUFFED ACORN SQUASH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper and grease the parchment with some oil.
• Slice the root and stem ends off of the squash and cut each in half widthwise (through the middle). Remove the seeds with a spoon and brush the squash all over with 2 tablespoons of the oil. Season with salt and pepper, place cut-side down on the prepared pans and roast until tender and lightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes.
• While the squash roasts, cook the fonio filling. In a medium saucepan, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add the dates and shallot. Cook, stirring, until the shallot softens, 5 to 8 minutes.
• Add the fonio and stir until well-coated with oil. Then pour in the broth and add the red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, cover the pan and turn the heat to low; simmer 1 minute. Remove from the heat and let rest, covered, for 4 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
• Fold the parsley into the fonio. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stuff the squash halves with the fonio mixture and set upright on the parchment-lined sheet pans that you used to roast the squash. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 5 minutes.
• Uncover, top each squash half with goat cheese and turn the oven to broil. Broil the squash until browned and crunchy on top, 3 to 5 minutes.

ACORN SQUASH TEMPURA

Steps:

• Make the sauce: Stir together 1 cup warm water, the soy sauce, mirin, dashi powder and superfine sugar. Set aside until ready to serve.
• Make the tempura: In a bowl, whisk the flour, cornstarch, 1 teaspoon salt and the seltzer to make a loose batter, adding up to 1/2 cup more flour as needed.
• Fill a pot with 3 inches vegetable oil; bring to 350˚ F over medium heat. Working in batches, dip the squash wedges into the batter, allow the excess to drip off, then deep-fry until golden and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain, then serve with the dipping sauce.