Recipe: Cranberry Stuffed Acorn Squash

After the success of last weeks spaghetti squash, I have had squashes on my mind.  Another fall treat is a really great hard squash.  Acorns are a favorite of mine, stuffed with all sorts of great things.

Cranberry Stuffed Acorn Squash

6 cloves of garlic (chopped)
1 onion (chopped)
1 acorn squash
3 cups of water
1 cup of cranberries

1 cup of brown rice
1 cup of cranberry beans (cooked)
1 cup of fresh parsley
1 cup portobello mushroom (chopped)
1 cup of zucchini (cubed)
1/2 cup of sugar 
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon of oil
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of pepper


Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.  Slice the squash length-wise and remove the seeds.  In the bowl-like sections, fill with water (it will be about 1 cup), or another sort of broth.  Wrap tightly in foil and place in the oven bowl side up for about 1 hour or until the squash is tender (check with a fork or knife).  Once done, set aside.

In a pot, boil the rice and water for about 45 minutes or until the rice is tender. Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of the parsley into the rice, cover and set aside.

In a pot, bring 1 cup of water to a boil.  Add the cranberries and sugar and cook until the cranberries pop.  This should take about 10 minutes.  The set aside, a taste test should be very sweet.

In a sauce pan, bring the oil to a low-med heat.  Add the garlic and onion and cook until onion is tender and translucent.  Add the salt, pepper, mushroom, zucchini, and cranberry beans (any white bean will work).  Cook for about 8 minutes until the mushrooms are tender.  Add one 1/2 of the remaining parsley and the vinegar and increase the heat to med-high until the vinegar has burned off.  Reduce the heat back to low-med and add the rice and cranberries and mix gently so as not to mash the rice.  Once the mixture is well combined, add the remaining parley.  After the parsley becomes aromatic (about 2 minutes), begin to stuff the halves of the squash.  Serve hot dusted with more fresh parsley.



This meal was a lot of fun and had strikingly gorgeous fall colors.  When I made mine, I used some leftover black bean liquid from my recent black beans and peppers dish to bake the squash in.  It altered the color much darker but added a nice flavor.  This is a dish to be creative with.