Stuffed Squash Recipe

Stuffed Squash Recipe:

Let me start by first explaining to you how this simple little recipe made it into our lives.

We basically knew what we were getting ourselves into moving over here to the big city of London, and we were prepared to embrace and accept the many differences and changes (should that be challenges?) to our daily routine.

That said, it’s still a bit of a challenge to grab the three or four bags of groceries and that DeLonghi espresso maker, Dyson vacuum, and cute black toaster we need to have and haul these items up the street then down the almost two hundred stairs to the tube, wait for it, maybe find a seat and then back up another set of stairs (some have escalators it’s true) then make our way up another street, wait for a bus, get on the bus, and again maybe find a seat. Then it’s off the bus and down another street to carry all of these wonderful items the remaining way back to our flat. The fittest among us will have difficulty with this daunting task.

Or, thought I, couldn’t you just purchase all of these items online? Of course you can! We can get most everything delivered directly to our front door! (Don’t worry, the dog doesn’t bite. She is just very loud and happy to see you strange person). But what about delivery fees you ask? Who cares? It’s totally worth it from where I’m standing and besides some of these fees are only a paltry 99 pence so there! (We always have to remember that we no longer have the payments and maintenance bills we once had with our automobiles. We are saving a small fortune. Yea!)

Now our fresh organic produce and meats show up every Wednesday morning. They take the packaging from the week prior and reuse it too. And it’s all from local, organic farms, wild game, and meat suppliers. We are also enjoying organic beer and wine with our weekly purchase.

We have chosen a CSA for our foodstuff supplier. CSA is the acronym for Community Supported Agriculture. This simply means that your food isn’t traveling around the world to get to you, so it’s very fresh when it arrives at your door. It also means you are eating food “in season” not that mushy flavorless asparagus shipped from New Zealand in the wintertime. Yuck! It’s local and seasonal which is how our ancestors ate, you know the ones that didn’t suffer from all of the cancers and food allergies that we are all now inflicted with. Yes they have them in the states too. I suggest you contact one near you. Besides, you will be supporting your local farmers and economy and that’s always cool.

Anyway, we have found one here that fits our needs perfectly and name of this company is Abel & Cole! Each week we get to choose our groceries online and change, add or modify as we see fit. Each week we also receive a small fruit and veggie box that works for us. They have different sizes and different items depending on your choice of box. We stick to this box and add or subtract as our needs change.

Abel & Cole then fills our box with local, fresh items that are ready to be harvested from the local farm(s). This way we get a variety each week and there is always something new to try! It’s fun to see what will be our box each week and it’s so easy to do!

But sometimes you open the box and say to yourself, “I have no idea what this is or even what to do with it”. That’s why they give you recipes. They are clever that way.

So when my lovely wife gets home and sees the two little “Gem Squash” in the refrigerator, she gives this look like “You’ve got to be kidding? The one food I could never eat as a child and never plan to eat again as an adult. What the hell is a squash anyhow?”

Well it’s a fruit as it has seeds and can reproduce itself. (Insert euphemistic joke here)

And it came with a recipe…

This means that we at least know one other thing to do with it other than using it as a grenade or a holiday decoration.

As it turned out, they were amazing! One of the best dishes ever prepared for me by my wife or anyone! And she couldn’t believe it either! We both made yummy sounds for twenty minutes. We paired it with some partridge breasts that she simply cooked on the range top in a frying pan with olive oil.

So, here it is:

Stuffed Squash with a Zingy Tahini Dressing

Prep time: 20 mins

Cooking time: 35 mins

Serves 2-4

• 1 harlequin squash or 2 little gem squishes (is that not the plural form of squash?)
• ½ red chilli, finely chopped (I have license to use American or British spelling or measurements as I see fit)
• 3-4cm chunk of fresh ginger, finely grated
• ½ mug quinoa or bulgar wheat (we used white rice because we had some leftover)
• 3-4 spring onions, thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove finely chopped
• 2-3 tbsp fresh orange and/or lime juice, plus a little zest (not the soap)
• 1 tsp honey or agave syrup
• A dash of soy sauce (we substituted tamari)
• A handful of fresh mint, coriander and/or parsley, chopped
• Olive oil
• Freshly ground salt and pepper

For the tahini dressing:

• 2 tbsp tahini
• 1 orange
• A drop of soy sauce
• A bit of freshly chopped red chilli (optional)
• A good pinch of finely chopped parsley

Heat your oven to 200 deg Celsius/Gas 6. Halve your squash. Spoon out all the seeds. Rub all over with olive oil. Season well. Add a little chopped chilli and ginger to the hollow. Roast for 20-35 mins, until tender.

Toast the quinoa or bulgar wheat in a warm pan for a bit. Add a drop of oil and season. Stir. Sizzle for a sec. Add a mug of water. Let it bubble. Cover. Reduce heat, simmer for ten mins or till it absorbs the water. Cover for 5-10 mins till fluffy. Mix in all the other ingredients, a splash of oil, the remaining chilli and ginger. Adjust seasoning to taste. Add the herbs.

Once the squash is cooled a bit, spoon in the stuffing.

For the dressing: Slowly mix the tahini and orange juice in a bowl till smooth and drizzly. Add a drop of soy sauce and chilli, to taste. Finish with the parsley.

Lovely with a salad of juicy tomatoes, avocado slices and seeds.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did! Have fun and let us know how it was.

Thank you. Peace.