Stuffed Squash

From Megan’s kitchen, adapted from an Alton Brown recipe

While this recipe calls for acorn squash, any winter squash will work equally well. Try it with a sugar pie pumpkin or delicata.

• 2 small Acorn squash, 1 to 1 1/4 pounds each
• 1 T Unsalted butter
• 1/4 lb Ground pork
• 1 tsp Olive oil, optional
• 1/4 C Chopped onion
• 1/4 C Chopped celery
• 1/4 C Chopped carrot
• 1/4 C White wine
• 3/4 C Cooked rice
• 1/2 bu Chard, de-stemmed and chopped
• 1/4 C Toasted pine nuts
• 1/2 tsp Dried oregano or 1 tsp fresh oregano, finely chopped
• Generous pinch kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut 1-inch off the top of each acorn squash remove seeds & and scoop out the guts. If necessary in order for the squash to sit upright, cut off a small portion of the bottom. Put a piece of butter in the cavity of each squash. Set squash on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a large sauté pan over medium heat, brown the ground pork until no longer pink. Using a slotted spoon remove the meat from the pan. If needed, add olive oil and sauté the onion, celery, and carrot until they begin to soften, approximately 7 to 10 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the white wine. Add the chard and cook for 2-3 minutes to soften

Return the pork to the pan along with the cooked rice, pine nuts, oregano and salt and pepper, to taste. Stirring constantly, heat mixture thoroughly, approximately 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Divide the mixture evenly among the squash, top each squash with its lid and bake for 1 hour or until the squash is tender. Serve immediately.