WHOLE-ROASTED STUFFED DELICATA SQUASH

Whole-Roasted Stuffed Delicata Squash image

Here is a vegetarian dinner course of impressive size and heft, to rival any stuffed chicken, turkey or loin of pork. The interior is a riff on a kale salad run through with croutons, dried cranberries, blue cheese and a spray of maple-scented pecans that complement the sweet flesh of the squash. You could use small sugar pumpkins for the main event, or really any sweet-fleshed winter squash, but delicata squash is our favorite option for reasons of taste and beauty. Unless you are serving it as a side dish, avoid the temptation to cut the squash vertically, to create boats for the stuffing. Boats are for side dishes. They are halves of a whole. For a main course, serve a squash per person, standing tall on each plate.

Provided by Sam Sifton

Categories dinner, main course, side dish

Time 1h30m

Yield 6 to 12 servings

Number Of Ingredients 12

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Ingredients

6 small delicata squash, about 1 pound each
Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Olive oil, for the baking sheet
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium onions, diced
1 bunch red kale (about 1 pound), trimmed and chopped
6 ounces whole-grain bread, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (about 3 cups), from a good-quality loaf
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons chopped parsley, for garnish

Steps:

Cut 1 inch off the top and bottom of each squash. Use a melon baller or small spoon to scrape out the seeds. Sprinkle the inside of the squash with salt and pepper, then stand them upright on an oiled baking sheet.
Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a large saucepan set over medium-high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. When it foams, add onions to pan and sauté, stirring frequently, until they begin to soften and turn translucent, approximately 6 to 8 minutes. Add kale to pan and continue to cook, tossing, until kale begins to wilt, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and put vegetables into a large bowl.
Meanwhile, place bread cubes on a sheet pan and toast in the oven until they begin to crisp on the outside, approximately 7 to 9 minutes. Add bread cubes to the bowl with the vegetables, and then add blue cheese and cranberries. Stir to combine.
Put pecans in a dry sauté pan set over medium heat and toast the nuts until they begin to darken and turn fragrant, approximately 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in maple syrup and allow to cook for 1 minute, then scrape into the bowl with the rest of the stuffing and toss to combine. Taste and season the mixture with salt and pepper.
Lower oven temperature to 400 degrees. Divide the stuffing between the squash. Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into 6 pieces, and top each squash with a dot of butter. Roast squash until the flesh has softened and you can easily pierce it with a fork, approximately 45 minutes. If the squash is browning too quickly, lay a sheet of aluminum foil over the top to prevent burning.
Sprinkle parsley over the squash. Serve 1 whole squash per person as a main course, or 1/2 squash or less as a side dish.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 339, UnsaturatedFat 11 grams, Carbohydrate 44 grams, Fat 17 grams, Fiber 8 grams, Protein 8 grams, SaturatedFat 6 grams, Sodium 909 milligrams, Sugar 10 grams, TransFat 0 grams