I really need a butcher knife. Instead, I have a very old chef’s knife that has been sharpened to death and, although faithful, it is not a knife conducive to cutting hard and difficult foods like squash. I’m really glad Adam wasn’t around to witness me trying to hack acorn squashes in half. Not surprisingly, I managed to not mangle two halves of said squash. The other two halves, well, not very photogenic. Yes, I know. Someone who cooks as much as I do should have a good knife. A really good knife. Maybe even two. I guess I’ve just been waiting for the right one. It has to feel right, maybe even perfect, in my hand. Mind you, I think about knives all the time. I’ve had Wusthof’s in the back of my mind for months now, but still am not sure. I suppose I should buy one before I have no hands to cook with. It might be time to hit Sur la Tables knife sale.
However, I forgave my knife its incompetency (it’s not the knifes fault, after all) when I took my first bite of this dish. I’m really not a fan of internet acronyms, but OMG. It stopped me in my tracks. I found this recipe on Saveur who linked it from The Bitten Word who borrowed it from Martha Stewart. Taking their advice, I upped the amount of spices Martha used which metamorphosed this recipe from sort of a Moroccan dish to an intensely delicious Moroccan dish. This is the kind of meal you make when you plan on feeding friends. It is meant to be shared.
I changed a few items from the original recipe. Instead of golden raisins, which are hard to find not treated with sulfites, I used currants. I’m glad I did. The currants softly complemented the sweetness of the squash. I think the raisins may have offered too big of burst of sweet. I replaced the ground beef with bison because, well, I love bison. I also added shaved fennel mostly because it seemed like a nice touch.
This dish is definitely adaptable. As I was cooking it, my mind danced with the possibilities. Toasted walnuts, quinoa, chopped apricots, cilantro, wild rice. Let your imagination run and cooking intuition take over.
That’s what it’s all about anyway, right?
Cheers!
What you’ll need~
2 medium acorn squash halved and bottoms shaved so they can sit flat in your dish
Olive oil
3/4-pounds ground bison
1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Or to taste.
1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg. Or to taste.
2+ teaspoons coarse salt
4 cloves minced garlic
1/2 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
3/4-cup bulgur
2 cups water
1/4 cups currants
1/4 chopped Italian parsley
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
Half of one fennel, shaved
Preheat oven to 400 and place squash cut side down in a large Pyrex or casserole dish. Bake for about 30-45 minutes, until tender.
While your squash is baking, warm oil over medium heat in a heavy 4-quart pot with a tight-fitting lid. Add ground bison, cinnamon, nutmeg and a teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring frequently until bison is browned and cooked through. Keep in mind that bison is naturally very lean and over cooks easily. You only need to cook it for about 5 minutes.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer cooked bison to a bowl. Be sure to let the juices drip through the spoon and remain in your pot.
Add onion and cook until it begins to soften and become translucent. Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.
Stir in bulgur and remaining salt.
Add water and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium-low heat, and cover. Cook for about 15 minutes until the water is absorbed. Remove pot from stove and let sit covered for about 5 minutes.
Fluff bulgur with a fork and add bison, currants, parsley, shaved fennel and pine nuts.
Scrap out the cooked squash leaving about a 1/4 inch around the rims. Stir scraped out bits into the bulgur and spoon in to squash halves.
Bake for about 15 minutes, until tops are browned.
Serve warm and prepared to be wowed.
Oh. My. YUM! Cant wait to try this one out – thanks for the recipe. And p.s. I am SO proud of you and look forward to seeing what the future has to offer YOU. Will miss your face tho. :( Beautiful blog! xo
Thanks, Rebma!
[...] been meaning to make stuffed squash for 2 weeks and finally found some time! It started when i saw this recipe on Leek Soup and I had fennel and squash from the CSA, so, perfect, [...]
Where exactly do i add the fennel? i got both acorn squash and fennel in my CSA this week, and this seems like a lovely way to use them both together!
Ha! I can’t believe after all this time I never caught that that bit wasn’t included. I just fixed it. Sorry about that!
haha it happens! thank you! I’ll be crediting you shortly on my blog, uglyfoodtastesbetter.com with my interpretation! thank you thank you!
So i finally got around to making my version, and thought I’d share it with you! http://uglyfoodtastesbetter.com/2011/10/02/stuffed-squash/
Looks great! Thanks for sharing!
This just look gorgeous! Acorn squash is definitely my go to squash this winter.
This recipe made me think, “wow, who can I invite over to cook this for?” Definitely on a future menu.
i would loooove to make this but i have the exact same knife issue…any tips?!
Lauren
Hi Lauren! Well, I’m no expert, but I’d say make sure your knife is very sharp and your work surface stable. And, of course, buy a really good knife when you get the chance. I’m actually thinking of getting a butcher knife for working with hard foods like squash.
Thanks for writing!
Cheers!
Looks absolutely amazing! We typically grow our own acorn squash and keep them in the cellar until we use them. I use just simple butter, brown sugar, cinnamon & nutmeg to taste. We will definitely have to try this soon!! It sounds and looks wonderfully delicious.
You are so lucky to have a cellar you can store foods in! After cooking with acorn squash, I realized that it is a great vehicle for just about anything. I’m glad this recipe inspires you to try something new. Cheers!
Simply amazing, just those photos alone defines how this dish taste like.
Raymund
http://angsarap.wordpress.com
Thank you Raymund! You’re always so kind and generous with your words.
Wow that sounds great. I’m a huge fan of both bison and acorn squash, and the currants and pine nuts sound like an interesting touch.
The two together are heavenly!
I actually did read this post(?)blog(?)previously. I just sort of forgot. It was terrific the second time! As I’m sure it was the first even though I can’t remeber it.
Gorgeous pics! What kind of camera do you use?
Hi Elizabeth! I shoot with a Nikon D300.
That looks delicious. Your photos are gorgeous. I’m so glad my local co-op sometimes has cut squash–it’s dangerous when I try to cut them myself.
I know! Hard foods can be sketchy, and not a little scary to cut. Good knives are important, to be sure!
This looks delicious…I’m new to cooking w/ acorn squash so I’m looking for new recipes to try. Also, love your pics!
Thank you so much!
I tend to cut squashes with a bread knife…. well, it works for me!
Great idea!
All great references for a recipe, so this one was bound to be good! Love the addition of fennel.
Thanks!
That sounds just delightful, I don’t eat enough squash.
I hear you about the knives also, my kitchen has about twenty knives in it and maybe one of them is sharp enough to handle any kind of strain. I also admit to using regular table knives to do most of my cutting – they just feel right. Though I do miss a good sharp chef’s knife.
Thanks Ella! I just received a gift card to Sur la Table, so hopefully my knife woes will soon be over :)
Wow another amazing recipe and photos as well, I love the squash, fennel and currants in that soup!
Thanks Ray! It is an amazingly good dish. I can’t wait to make it again and change it up a bit. Hmmm, roasted chestnuts?
Mmm. Those look delicious, and the inclusion of bulgur wheat sounds interesting. Not on the topic of your squash but on the topic of your last photo: I love that scalloped spoon with the holes. What type of spoon is it and where is it from?
Hi Stephanie!
I think it’s a berry spoon. I can’t remember exactly where I got it, but it was definitely floating around in an antique shop. We tend to spend a lot of time in antique shops :)
Cheers!
I’ll be trying this as soon as I can. Sounds brill.