I’ll confess. When I’m standing at the farmstand, looking at all the amazing winter squash available, the acorn squash is not one I usually reach for. My preference, when it comes to winter squash, are the varieties that are really dense and thick with that squash/pumpkini flavor. My ultimate favorite it buttercup, with butternut running a very close second. Pie pumpkins and kabocha squash are also in the running, but I just usually find acorn squash to be watery and bland- though they do have their applications.
Well, the weekend before last, one of my favorite farms was advertising that you could fill a bushel box with your choice of winter squash for just $14.00. That was too good to pass up, so I drove over and filled a box with delicious squash goodness. But as I was packing the box with butternuts and buttercups, I saw these small acorn squash and I decided I just had to add a few of those as well for stuffing purposes. I’d seen too many recipes as of late for stuffed acorn squash, so I added a handful of acorns as well that day.
Once Andy had seen this bushel box of squash later that day, he asked me why I didn’t get two boxes at that amazing price. So, wouldn’t you know, the next day after church we swung by the stand again to fill a second box- this one I added a few more acorn squash too, as logistically they filled in the corners. I wasn’t allowed to overfill the bushel box, but I was determined to maximize the space.
My first thought for stuffing acorn squash was that I wanted to try an idea that the kids might eat. Abigail has come around to eating squash, Zander is still not a fan, but it’s always worth a shot. This is a non-recipe method, because of course, you can use what you have on hand, versus exactly what I used to stuff these small squash.
The first step though, was to pre-bake the squash. Had I stuffed them still hard and raw, the filling would be burnt like crazy by the time the squash was soft all the way through, so I wanted to bake the squash partway first. I cut the squash in half, removed the seeds and membranes, and then rubbed coconut oil over the cut side of the squash. Then I placed them cut side down into a pan and popped them into a 350ºF oven for about half an hour.
Next, I assembled a really simple filling. I took three small golden delicious apples, peeled and cored them, and then diced them. I added some golden raisins, almond slivers, and then a small scoop of brown sugar, followed by a dash of cinnamon and some salt. I mixed this all together in a bowl and then filled the hollows of the squash with the filling. The crowning touch was a pat of butter, and then they went back into the oven. Another 30 minutes passed, and then we had some delicious stuffed squash.
Somehow I forgot to take a picture of the final baked product, but it’s not that different from the pre-baked one. This was very delicious stuffed acorn squash. Andy loved it, I loved it, and Abigail really enjoyed it too. Zander told me that I should just make the filling part next time- I guess this didn’t win him over to the squash dark side yet.
Up next for the acorn squash I’m honing in on a good grain-based autumnal stuffing. I have a few recipes that I’ve gathered so far, we’ll see what happens…