Wild Rice Stuffed Squash

It's the time of year where roasting and baking start to sound like a great idea again. Stuffed squash is both kid-friendly and adult-friendly, so it's a favorite here at the farm. We never use an exact recipe with our stuffed squash, but here is one of our most recent variations!

Preheat the oven to 425. Take the small dumpling squashes and cut just the tops off, scooping out all the seeds and leaving a little squash bowl (delicata squash also works well here!). Place them in a greased baking pan then put in a half inch or so of water and cover well with foil so the squash can steam. Pop them in the oven and then start your rice, wild rice is one of our favorites. Check the squash regularly, it will steam fairly quickly.

When soft to the touch, take the squash out and uncover so it can dry out a bit. Once the wild rice is done, stir in chopped hazelnuts, a generous pinch of salt, a glug of maple syrup and enough heavy cream that you can see it when you stir but not so much that the mixture is liquidy. Give it a taste and add more salt or maple syrup or cream depending on your preference. Spoon into the squash, pressing down gently so they fill completely, and allowing them to overflow slightly. Reduce the heat to 375 and place them back in the oven to brown up a bit. 

If hazelnuts aren't your thing, try dried cranberries and pecans, mushrooms and onions, or chicken stock and grated parmesan cheese. Just don't forget the maple syrup.