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Rice-Stuffed Delicata Squashes

My husband certainly has a way with his vegetable garden. Each year there's one or another crop that becomes, to put it politely, overabundant. The first year, it was tomatoes. The phrase, "too many tomatoes" was particularly resonant for me, as my overindulgence triggered an allergy (fortunately, temporary) resulting in itchy hives. The following year, the culprit was Swiss chard. Though mildly annoying at the time, my bewilderment over what to do with this profusion of greens led to my writing a book (my latest, Wild About Greens) on leafy greens of all sorts.

Squashes, tomatoes. and collards
This is but a fraction of one week's haul from the garden!

Squashes vary in terms of how large a hollow they offer for stuffing, so no worries if you have more of the rice pilaf than what they'll comfortably hold - you can simply use any that remains as a yummy side dish. Use any kind of brown rice, though I highly recommend using an exotic rice blend for more flavor. Exotic doesn't mean hard to find - you'll find rice blends in the supermarket, as well as natural foods stores.The Royal Blend® with Quinoa used here contains not only light brown rice but red quinoa and freekeh (a form of whole-grain wheat). It's so flavorful in and of itself that I kept the pilaf stuffing simple.

Serves: 4 as a main dish; 8 as a side dish

  • 4 medium delicata  squashes (or other semi-hard squashes,
    such as acorn, golden acorn, very small butternut, or any that
    have a symmetrical oblong shape)
  • 1 ¼ cups brown rice or exotic whole-grain rice blend
  • 2 ½ cups low-sodium vegetable stock or water
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 medium red onion (or ½ large), finely chopped
  • 3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • ½ medium red bell pepper, finely diced
  • ¼ cup dry white wine or water
  • ½ cup loosely packed chopped fresh parsley or cilantro
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh dill, plus more for garnish
  • 2 teaspoons mixed seasoning blend (like Frontier or Mrs. Dash)
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Small squashes are easy to prepare by microwaving. Simply allow 3 to 4 minutes on High per squash, or until it is easily pierced with a sharp knife, but not mushy. You can also use the easy directions for baking in the oven in this post on How to Tame Winter Squashes. You can do this step ahead of time.

Combine the rice and vegetable broth in a large saucepan and bring to a slow boil. Lower the heat, cover, and cook for 20 minutes, or until the broth is absorbed. If you prefer a more tender grain, add ½ cup additional broth or water, and cook until absorbed.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and sauté over medium heat until translucent. Add the garlic and bell pepper and continue to sauté until all are soft and golden. Once the rice is done, add it to the skillet along with the remaining ingredients.

Squashes and rice pilaf

Stir together and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat, or until nicely heated through. When the squashes are cool enough to handle, cut them in half through the stem ends. Remove and discard the seeds and fibers.

Hollow them out, leaving a sturdy shell, about ¼ inch thick. Some squashes have more flesh to remove than others, once the seeds are gone. Whatever squash flesh you have, chop it finely and stir into the rice mixture. Stuff the cavities in the squashes with the rice mixture generously, without overstuffing. Sprinkle extra minced dill over the tops for garnish. If both the squashes and rice mixture are still warm, you can serve as is, but if need be, you can arrange in a roasting pan or on a baking sheet, cover with foil, and warm in a 350º F. oven until piping hot, just before serving. Serve two halves per person as a main dish; or one half per person as a side dish. Rice-stuffed squashes served with steamed greens

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  1. Nava says

    Testing ....

  2. Janice Cooper says

    Stuffed rice pockets

  4. Shannon says

    Squash Boats!

  5. Gloria Kersh says

    I'd name it Royal Garden Delight!!!!
    and it looks yummy

  6. Carol Lustig says

    SQUICE as Nice Stuffed Squash

  7. Tamar says

    Royal Rice Stuffed Squash!

  8. Maureen says

    Squashocopia!

  9. jan pavia says

    pilaf squash boats

  10. Kristin says

    Hearty and Healthy Stuffed Winter Squash!

  11. Joy says

    Rockin' the Royal Rice Boats!

  12. Danielle F. says

    Veggie Rice stuffed Harvest Squash

  13. Terri Cole says

    Glorious Grains Stuffed Squash

  14. Margaret Smith says

    Stuffed rice boats.
    Thanks so much.

  16. donna marchlewski says

    Royal Squash boats

  17. Stephanie V. says

    autumn rice delight
    tvollowitz at aol dot com

  19. Natalie says

    Row row row your boats salad

  20. heather says

    I would name this dish "Squash Bounty Deluxe"

  21. Shannon Baas says

    Squash and rice delight.

  22. Stacy R says

    Stuffed squash with rice

  23. christine burd says

    Royal Squash Armadas would be what I would name this recipe

  24. Cynthia C says

    I would call it Royal Stuffed Squash

  26. Kim Henrichs says

    I would call it Autumn Stuffed Squash

  27. Kim Ripley says

    Squash Boats

  28. Kim H says

    Royal Blend® Whole Grain with Texmati® Brown & Wild Rice
    [email protected]

  29. Barbara M says

    Fall Bounty Goodness - thank you.

  31. Kimberly Snyder says

    VeggieQ Boats

  32. Chrystal D says

    Special Squash is my choice!

  33. jessica says

    squash n rice boats

  34. Kerry says

    Stuffed Squash sounds like a good name for this.

  35. Chris Marie says

    I would name it rice delish over squash. Thanks for the giveaway!

  37. Diane baum says

    I would call it rice in a bowl

  38. Anastasia says

    I'm terrible with names! So I'd go with whats in it, so you know what you're getting by the name 🙂 Garden squash rice bowl 🙂

  40. tina reynolds says

    Squashed delight Rice

  42. gina says

    Vegetarian stuffed squash

  43. Karen D says

    I'd name it "Stuffed Squash...it's dilly"

  45. maria cantu says

    rice stuffed squash pizza

  46. Debbie B says

    stuffed squash

  48. Dee says

    I'd name it Harvest Stuffed Squash 🙂

  49. Rebecca Graham says

    I would name it squash boats.

  50. Betty C says

    Autumn rice boats

  53. Sarah Hirsch says

    Squash Surprise

  54. Lisa V. says

    Zesty Squash and Rice.

  55. Erica Best says

    squash bowls

  57. Lauren-Olivia Wood says

    I would call this dish Stuffed Squash Boats!

  58. Jennifer says

    rice and squash boats!

  59. Melissa l says

    Stuffed Squash 🙂 it's like stuffed peppers.. thats what it reminded me of

    Thanks for the giveaway

  61. Karen Drake says

    I would name it Stuffed Squash Fiesta.

  62. s riches says

    Stuffed Squash Supreme

  63. DanV says

    Veggie stuffed squash

  64. kathy pease says

    Id name this dreamy rice boats 🙂

  66. Nicole Carter says

    I would call it Rice Stuffed Squash
    [email protected]

  68. Nadine L says

    Healthy Harvest

  70. Lisa Garner says

    I would name it Bountiful Boats.
    lisalmg25 at gmail dot com

  72. thischickwins says

    mega-stuffed squash

  73. Thomas Murphy says

    I would name it stuffed squash boat.

  75. Amanda Sakovitz says

    Squash delight

  77. Jackee says

    Savory Stuffed Squash

  79. angie lilly says

    Herbed Veggie Stuffed Squash!

  81. Sand says

    Quinoa squash boats.

  82. mariem says

    sqaush boats

  83. Nicole Weite says

    Don't rock the boat... Squash the boat!

  84. lisa lo says

    Squash surprise!

  86. Mihaela Day says

    Yummy Stuffed Squash

  87. Gianna says

    Butternut Boats.

  88. Penny says

    I am going to toast the rice mix slightly in a frying pan before I cook it.