If you’re anything like me, you relish the thought of cooler air, changing leaves…and all of the wonderful (albeit fattening) foods of the fall and winter months. A cook’s thoughts turn towards braises, roasted meat and poultry, and let’s face it – those yummy side dishes that we allow ourselves to savor only during the holidays.
How can we still enjoy those fabulous comfort foods without throwing our healthy food routines down the drain? I am a firm believer in getting the most “bang from your calories”. Using a little bit of foods that a healthy eater may consider taboo can transport an okay dish to a fabulous one. Try to think of creative ways to get more flavor out of your traditional winter dishes – but not necessarily loads more calories.
Here’s to the autumn and its bounty, to winter for its lush and festive foods. Here’s to eating well and to cooking well. Enjoy this stuffed winter squash with a roasted chicken for a weeknight meal, add it to your menu for your Thanksgiving feast or serve at lunch for a filling and healthy main course.
To ramp up the flavors I have used a small bit of pancetta, which is an Italian bacon that has a tremendous salty, smoky flavor. And to help the dish’s flavors meld together, I’ve added some heavy cream. Small amounts of high flavor items make an ordinary pumpkin taste out of this world!
Look for “pie pumpkins” at your grocery store. They are more flavorful and have a much nicer texture than a “jack-o-lantern” pumpkin. Acorn squash is an excellent substitute as well. Here I show you a large acorn squash that I cut in two and stuffed. You could make individual small acorn squashes cooked in crème brulee ramekins to make it an extra special holiday side dish. Adding a small amount of cooked turkey Italian sausage makes this a hearty one-dish (or one pumpkin) meal.
Notes
I like to cut the pumpkin into quarters and place on a plate. The filling can just be scooped out along with some of the pumpkin flesh and served next to your Thanksgiving turkey.
Ingredients
- 1 2-3 pound pie pumpkin or 2 large acorn squash
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- ¼ pound of stale, French or Italian bread, sliced and cut into ½-inch pieces
- ¼ pound cheese, Gruyere, Emmenthal, sharp cheddar or a combination, cut into 1- inch chunks
- 4 ounces, pancetta, chopped into ¼-inch pieces, cooked until crisp, drained, saving a teaspoon of fat in the pan
- ½ bunch of kale, washed dried, stems removed and thinly sliced and chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup of sliced green onions
- 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme, chopped (you can substitute or mix any fresh herb you prefer)
- A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
- ⅓ cup heavy cream, you may need a bit more or a bit less, depending upon the size of your squash or pumpkin
Instructions
- Using a very sharp and sturdy knife, cut a cap off of the pumpkin as if you were cutting a jack-o-lantern. If using large acorn squash, cut the squash in half, horizontally, so you have two equal sized halves.
- Scrape the insides of the pumpkin or squash to removes any seeds or strings. (I love to use my avocado scoop to clean out pumpkin or squash. I don’t know if I’ve used it on an avocado.)
- Season the inside of the pumpkin or squash generously with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Place the pumpkin or squash on the prepared baking sheet or in individual baking dishes.
- Heat the skillet that you used to brown the pancetta and add the kale, stirring and sautéing for a minute or two or until the kale wilts slightly.
- Add the chopped garlic and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Saute for another minute. Remove from heat.
- In a large bowl, toss together the kale mixture, bread, cheese, pancetta, green onions, fresh thyme, and freshly grated nutmeg. Add freshly ground black pepper, nutmeg and salt to taste. (The pancetta and cheese can be salty, so make sure to taste the filling before adding any additional salt.)
- Pack the mixture into the pumpkin or squashes. Drizzle with the cream. You don’t want the ingredients to be too soggy or too dry, the filling should be nicely moist. You may need a tiny bit more or less of the cream.
- Put the cap back on the pumpkin or squash, or cover the halved squash individually and snuggly with foil.
- Place the individual dishes on the prepared sheet pan, or if you are not using dishes, place directly on the parchment covered pan
- Bake at 350⁰ for about 2 hours. Check the squash or pumpkin at 90-minutes to see if flesh is easily pierced with the tip of a knife, and the filling is bubbling. Remove the cap of the pumpkin and the foil from the squash and allow to cook for about 20 minutes to brown the top of the stuffing.
- Allow the squash or pumpkin to rest on the counter in the pan for about 10 minutes.
Kim Duhamel is a former cooking instructor who lives in Bentonville, Arkansas with her husband and pug. She has three married children and one granddaughter. She has a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the University of Massachusetts and an Associate’s degree in the Culinary Arts from NWACC. After being sidelined for about a year with a neck injury, she hopes to get back to teaching in 2016.