Recipe of the Month: Moroccan-Style Stuffed Acorn Squash
Submitted by Benjamin Heffner (Passed on from my grandmother and great-grandmother!).
Serves 4.
Ingredients 2 Acorn Squashes 2 tsp Olive Oil Ground beef 1 tsp salt 1/8th tsp of cinnamon and nutmeg 1 onion, finely diced 4 cloves garlic, minced ¾ cups bulgur 2 cups water
Directions:
Cut two acorn squashes in half and take out the seeds. Place them cut side down in a baking dish. Bake in a 400-degree oven until tender, for about 35 minutes. The filling should be made while the squash is cooking.
In a medium pot, heat up 2 tsp of olive oil. Add ground beef, a tsp of salt, and 1/8th tsp of cinnamon and nutmeg. Cook until the beef is brown, for about 7 minutes. Strain the meat onto another plate while saving whatever liquid remains in the pot. To that liquid, add one finely diced onion and cook for about 5 minutes. Then add 4 cloves of minced garlic until they’re fragrant. Stir in ¾ cups of bulgur. Add 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to medium-low, cook covered for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, but keep it covered for another 5 minutes.
Add in the reserved beef as well as a handful of golden raisins, some chopped parsley and a couple tablespoons of toasted pine nuts. Scrape out the flesh from the cooked squashes and add to the filling. Equally divide the filling among the 4 halves of squash. Bake another 10 to 15 minutes to warm everything.
