Stuff It Squash

There are many recipes out there for making a stuffed acorn squash, but as I surveyed them they all had some fatal flaw. Either they were too fussy about the squash, the stuffing lacked sophistication, or in one awful case, the squash and stuffing were prepared separately! That's false advertising!

I decided to invent my own recipe, and luckily the farm I subscribe to had a bumper crop of acorn squash this year, so I had ample opportunities to refine it.

Serves 2

Stuff It Squash

• 1 acorn squash
• 1/2 cup white rice
• 5/8 cup (5 ounces) beef stock
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Fresh ground pepper to taste
• 1 celery stalk
• 1 medium carrot
• 1/2 honeycrisp apple
• 4 slices of bacon
• 1 shallot
• Vegetable or olive oil

Start by cooking the rice in the beef stock. Always start by rinsing the rice until the water runs fairly clean. I use a sieve and the sprayer setting on my kitchen faucet. For cooking, I use my Japanese rice cooker, so just toss it in and hit one button. Use whatever method of rice cooking works for you. The proportions are 1 part rice to 1.25 part cooking liquid.

Don't skip rinsing the rice.

Cook your bacon strips using your preferred method. I use the air fry setting on my range at 425 for 13 minutes. Chop finely and set aside.

Chop your vegetables and apple finely and set aside.

In a sauté pan, add about a tablespoon of oil and add your shallot. Cook until it begins to brown.

Preheat your oven to 425F.

When you rice is done, combine it with your sautéed shallot, bacon, vegetables, apple, salt, and pepper and mix.

Fill the squash with the stuffing mixture. Pack the cavity firmly and mound the dressing a little above the edge of the squash.

Cover tightly with tinfoil and bake for approximately 1 hour. Squash are done when a fork easily sinks into the flesh.

Remove from the oven and let rest covered with the tinfoil for about 15 minutes.

I added the last of the butter before cooking this time. I should have waited.