Health Coach Kristen’s Stuffed Acorn Squash 

Introduction

This delicious dish can serve as a side dish or entree.  I was inspired to make this for my family on Thanksgiving, thanks to this recipe from America’s Test Kitchen (ATK) Online Cooking School (since membership is needed to access recipes from ATK website, I made my own version of it and type it up here for you!).

Ingredients

• 2 acorn squash (1 ½ pounds each), quartered pole to pole and seeded
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• Salt and pepper
• 6 ounces kale, stemmed and sliced into ¼-inch-thick-strips
• 1 Fuji or Gala apple, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch pieces
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• ½ teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled (½ cup)
• 2 tablespoons whole blanched almonds, toasted and chopped coarsely 

Preparation

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Toss squash wedges, 2 tablespoons oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper together in a bowl until thoroughly coated. Arrange wedges on a rimmed baking sheet with 1 narrow cut side down. Roast until browned on the first side, about 20 minutes. Flip wedges so the other narrow cut side is down and continue to roast until browned on the second side and the tip of the paring knife slips easily into flesh, about 15 minutes longer.

Remove the sheet from the oven and let the wedges cool slightly. Once cool enough to handle, scoop flesh from 2 least attractive wedges into a bowl; discard skins. (You should have about ¾ cup of scooped squash.) Turn remaining 6 wedges skin side down on the sheet.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add kale, apple, and ¼ teaspoon salt and cook, covered, until kale is wilted, about 3 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook until any liquid has evaporated about 30 seconds. Stir in scooped squash, mashing with spoon to incorporate, and cook until beginning to brown, about 1 minute.

Push squash mixture to sides of skillet. Add garlic, rosemary, and remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the center of the skillet and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir garlic mixture into squash mixture. Stir in vinegar and cook until evaporated, about 1 minute. Off heat, stir in butter and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Divide filling evenly among wedges on the sheet. Evenly sprinkle goat cheese and almonds over the filling. Bake until cheese is softened and squash heated through 5 to 7 minutes. Drizzle with extra oil before serving.