Fall Cornucopia

There are so many different kinds of squash out now, it’s hard to decide which one to use.  There are lots of recipes for delicata and butternut which are a bit on the sweeter side of the squash family, but this one is made using acorn squash which is an earthier type of squash.

In order to sweeten it up a bit, I recommend brushing it with a bit of maple syrup, another seasonal flavor, and sprinkling it with some salt and pepper before roasting it.  The cranberries also help to balance out the slightly bitter flavor with their sweet juiciness, as well as the apple and sweet potato.

All of the ingredients are in season right now, so you can play with the flavor profile a bit by choosing different kinds of apples or sweet potatoes. I personally like to use garnet sweet potatoes and a sweeter apple like a gala, fuji or honeycrisp, but you can use whatever you have on hand.

In the time it takes to roast the squash, you can prepare the stuffing and then walk away from the oven and let it finish cooking, unattended.  Another option would be to dice up the squash (peel it first as you don’t want to eat the outside of the acorn squash) and sauté it with the potatoes, onions and peppers and eat it like a stew (you will need to adjust the amount of liquid) or like a stuffing or “bowl” by serving it with a grain like farro or rice.

However you choose to eat it, this cornucopia is the perfect way to celebrate fall, and would make a beautiful addition to your Thanksgiving table as well.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 – 1 cup diced red onion
• 1  1/2 cups diced sweet potato
• 1 cup diced red pepper
• 1 gala apple, peeled (personal preference.  Not necessary) cored and diced
• 1 Tablespoon fresh minced thyme
• 1 can chickpeas, drained (no need to rinse)
• 1  1/2 (packed) cups baby spinach
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup vegetable broth
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2-3 acorn squash, cut in half , seeds scooped out
• maple syrup

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Brush the squash with maple syrup and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake, face up, on a lined baking sheet for 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, saute the onions, pepper and sweet potato over medium heat in a bit of oil till barely tender, about 5-8 minutes. Add the apple, thyme, chickpeas, spinach and cranberries and broth and bring to a simmer.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Remove the stuffing from the stove and scoop it into the squash halves.  Reduce the oven to 350 and return the stuffed squash, covered, to bake for an additional 20 minutes.
5. Remove from oven, sprinkle with parsley or maybe pumpkin seeds and serve.

** If you don’t want to use the acorn squash, you can simply simmer the chickpea mixture on the stove for an additional 15 – minutes till the veggies are all tender.

Enjoy!