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Stuffed Roasted Acorn Squash with Apricot Couscous

⏎ All Recipes

Stuffed Roasted Acorn Squash with Apricot Couscous

This beautiful dish can be the centerpiece of a meatless meal or the perfect solution to a table full of “mixed” diners: vegetarians will make it their entrée and everyone else can have it as a side dish. Acorn squash varies in size: select the squash that works best for your purpose.

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the squash cut side down in a 13x9-inch baking dish and pour in 1 cup of the orange juice. Roast until tender, 40-45 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, bring the remaining 3/4 cup orange juice to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the couscous, cover, remove from the heat and let stand 5 minutes until the liquid is absorbed. Transfer to a bowl and fluff with a fork.
  3. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in the apricots, pecans and cranberries and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the maple syrup, nutmeg, salt and pepper; cook 30 seconds. Transfer to the bowl with the couscous and mix well.
  4. Spoon the couscous mixture into the squash and garnish with chives. Serve warm or room temperature.

Ingredients

  • 2 medium acorn squash, halved through the stem and seeded
  • 1 3/4 cups orange juice
  • 1/2 cup couscous
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 small red onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
  • 1/3 cup pecans, chopped
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries
  • 2 tabelspoons maple syrup
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons chives, chopped

Yield:

4 Servings