Mushroom & Kale-stuffed Acorn Squash
While I'm a summer squash fiend, I rarely make recipes with winter squash, except with the butternut variety every now and then. Not quite sure why that is and it feels like I'm missing out on a whole category when I'm trying to think of fall and winter grilling recipes. So last fall, when I needed a hearty vegetarian side, I turned to winter gourds and made these mushroom and kale-stuffed acorn squash.
I wrote this recipe in a manner that makes it easy to follow, but there's definitely time saving to be had from the 1 hour and 40 minutes I clocked it at if you were to make it exactly as written. To start, the bulgur wheat that begins out the process can be left to absorb liquid while you move on to both grilling the squash and making the filling.
While I don't make winter squash too often, I have used them before and from previous experience with acorn squash on the grill, I knew they take about 30 minutes over indirect heat for the flesh to fully soften. So next you can prep the squash and get those cooking. I seasoned mine with the standard salt and pepper and also added some chili powder for a slight heat and earthiness that I thought would go well with the mushroom filling.
Then, while the squash cooks and bulgur soaks, you can make the filling. I chose mushrooms as the main ingredient because they're one of my wife's favorite foods and I wanted to keep this vegetarian, but you can really tailor the filling to your own liking—if making it for only myself, I would have definitely chosen hot Italian sausage. To make the filling, I first softened some shallots in melted butter, then cooked the mushrooms until they began to brown, added kale next and cooked until wilted, and finally added sage, thyme, and garlic for seasonings at the end.
Around when the filling is done, the squash is likely tender since they both take roughly 30 minutes. I tested doneness by inserting a pairing into a thick part of the flesh and seeing if there was little to no resistance. A little resistance isn't bad here because the squash will still cook longer once stuffed.
When the squash was ready was when I finished up the filling by adding in the now tender bulgur wheat, dried cranberries, and toasted walnuts before seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. I spooned the filling into the cavities of each squash and decided in the moment that they would look and taste better with parmesan, so grated some on top before placing the squash back on the grill, covering, and letting them cook until warmed through and the cheese had browned a tad.
I wanted these squash to be able to be a main course for my vegetarian crew and they certainly delivered on that. They were much heartier than I was expecting—not only did they have the ability to fill you up, they also delivered on a ton of flavor. The squash itself had a subtle sweetness that went well with the earthiness of the mushroom and tempered the slight bitterness of the kale. The herbs gave this dish a very seasonal taste while both the nuts and cranberries were critical in providing textural contrasts along with their flavor boosts. It was hard to pull out the chili powder alone, but I knew that it, along with black pepper, were adding the little pockets of sharpness and heat that rounded out the dish. I was pleased with how these came out, but while considering the recipe, so many other ideas whirled in my head with how to stuff them that I could start making a new acorn squash recipe each fall. So don't be surprised if you start seeing more of these as I make up for my lost time ignoring winter squash for so long.
