Stuffed Butternut Squash
Serve up a delicious, healthy, and nutritious baked treat at your dinner table! Stuffed Butternut Squash is a 100% vegan dish featuring sweet, honey-sweet squash Which is slow roasted until soft and caramelized. The center is hollowed out and generously filled with savory, protein-rich quinoa, crunchy pecan pieces, fresh herbs, and a sprinkling of fresh sweet and sour red pomegranate pieces. This dish is not only a feast for the eyes with beautiful autumn colors but also offers a perfect blend of natural sweetness, savory spices and crunchy texture in every bite!
Shared by Dara
Time
60 min
Serves
2
Difficulty
medium
🛒 Ingredients
- One medium sized honey pumpkin, cut in half lengthwise and remove the seeds
- One tablespoon of olive oil for brushing the pumpkin
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup (75 grams) Quinoa or brown rice, boiled until cooked
- 1/4 cup pecans or walnuts, roughly chopped and lightly toasted
- 1/4 cup fresh, bright red pomegranate
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 1/2 finely chopped onion
- One stalk of spring onion or parsley, finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder or dried thyme herb
- One tablespoon of olive oil (for sauteing)
👩🍳 Instructions
- 1
Bake the honey pumpkin: -heat the oven to 200%C.- Take a half of the honeydew melon, with the seeds removed. Score the flesh crosswise using a sharp knife (to allow the heat to penetrate). Brush the entire surface of the pumpkin flesh with olive oil and then sprinkle with a little salt and black pepper - then place the pumpkin with the flesh facing down on a baking sheet Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Bake for 35 minutes, until the pumpkin is tender when pierced with a fork and the edges are golden brown.
- 2
Make the filling: - while the pumpkin is baking, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute the chopped onion and garlic until fragrant and wilted. -cooked quinoa, chopped pecans, cumin powder, salt and black pepper. Stir well for 2 to 3 minutes until the spices are absorbed and the aroma of roasted peanuts is fragrant. Turn off the heat.- Mix some of the pomegranate seeds and sliced spring onions into the stir-fried quinoa and stir well.
- 3
Baked pumpkin filling: - remove the honey pumpkin from the oven, then turn it over so that the hollow part is facing up. - Press the center of the pumpkin flesh slightly using a spoon to create a wider hollow space. - Pour the stir-fried quinoa and peanut mixture generously into the hollows of each half of the honey pumpkin until it forms a beautiful mound.
- 4
Final baking: return the filled pumpkin to the oven and bake for 5 to 8 minutes to combine the ingredients and allow the top to brown slightly.
- 5
Decorate and serve : remove from the oven. Sprinkle the top with the remaining bright red pomegranate seeds and the remaining chopped fresh green leaves for a stunning color contrast. Serve warm on a beautiful serving plate, ready to enjoy