A Meal to Warm Your Heart & Soul

StuffedAcornSquash

 

For those of you not living in Toronto (the apparent centre of the universe) we are getting hammered with a ton of snow! It is really hard to believe that just yesterday it was a balmy 10 degrees Celsius (for us Canadians that’s t-shirt wearing weather eh!).  This weather is more confusing than the Juan Pablo “After the Final Rose”episode last night!!

Just to give some perspective, this is the view from my front porch, and this doesn’t even do it justice, the snow bank in my front yard is over 6 feet tall!  My poor hubby is out shovelling the driveway while the boys and I stay cosy and warm. 🙂

ViewFromMyWindow

So when it came time to make dinner for the family it didn’t take long for me to decide on this family favourite – Stuffed Acorn Squash. I knew I wanted something warm and delicious and did this ever fit the bill. Pulling inspiration from my Aunt Marian’s recipe, I came up with this version. Here’s my recipe. Hope you enjoy!

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Pre-heat the oven to 400F

Ingredients

  • 4 Tbs of olive oil
  • 1 Diced sweet onion
  • 5 Cloves of pressed garlic
  • 1 Tbs of dried rosemary
  • 1 Tsp of thyme
  • 1/4 Tsp of thyme
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • 1 Cup of pine nuts
  • 2 Acorn squash

Method

Stuffing

  • On medium-low heat add the olive oil
  • Add onion and garlic and cook for 2 minutes
  • Add spices, rosemary, thyme, oregano and S&P to taste
  • Sauté until the onions are just turning soft and translucent and remove from heat
  • In a separate pan, toast 1 cup of pine nuts on medium-low heat until golden brown
  • Once both are done, place in food processor and pulse until combined *You still want it to have some texture to it vs being smooth

Squash

  • Cut your acorn squash vertically down the centre, slice a thin piece off the back vertically so that it lies flat and de-seed
  • Brush the inside halves of the squash with olive oil and season with S&P
  • Once both are prepared stuff the squash with the stuffing
  • Cover with tinfoil and bake for 1 hour
  • After 1 hour remove foil and bake uncovered for another 10 minutes until soft and serve

You can either serve as is, or scoop out the squash and stuffing and serve in a bowl.  Personally, I love the look of serving the squash as is.

Bon Appétit