Acorn Squash Stuffed with Wild Mushrooms & Goat’s Cheese
I love this time of year with bright, sunny, cold days, and dark evenings. I love being outside breathing in that cool air, having rosy cheeks, and puffing steam out of my mouth every time I exhale. I love wearing winter gear while taking the dog for a brisk walk at night. It’s always nice to get home, throw off my coat, and warm up by the fire with a glass of wine. I then turn on the oven and make a heartwarming family dinner with seasonal produce like acorn squash stuffed with wild mushrooms, spinach and sprinkled with goat cheese.
I serve my squash with an arugula salad, lightly seasoned with extra virgin olive oil and fresh lemon juice. You can add some carrots, parsnips, turnips or swede (rutabagas to my American friends) to the sheet pan while you’re roasting your squash to make it an even more nutritious, family dinner.
I’m giving you quick, easy nutritious family recipes for you to enjoy at home. Just like my three boys do, you can add your favorite foods to complement my recipes or change one or two of the ingredients to suit you’re eating habits. Recipes are only blue prints. You have to like the food to stick to a good healthy eating plan. That way you can lose weight, feel better about yourself, and realize that following a predominantly plant-based diet can be tasty, fun and easy. Bring on that winter cold and enjoy!
Acorn Squash Stuffed with Wild Mushrooms & Goat’s Cheese
Serves 4
Ingredients:
2 acorn squash, halved lengthwise, seeds removed
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 shallot, peeled and chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
3 cups wild mushrooms, roughly chopped
3 cups baby spinach
1 tablespoon chopped oregano
½ cup goat’s cheese, crumbled
4 cups arugula
Juice of 1 lemon
Preheat oven to 425’F
How to make:
Take a parchment lined sheet and place the squash cut side up, brush the flesh with 1 tablespoon of oil, season with salt and pepper. Turn each squash over so the cut side is now on the parchment paper then pop into the oven for 20 minutes.
While the squash is cooking, take a large frying pan and place on the stove over a medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of oil, followed by the shallots, garlic and mushrooms, cook stirring occasionally until tender about 5 to 6 minutes. Then stir in the spinach and oregano, cook until the spinach has wilted, about 2 to 3 minutes, taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.
Remove the squash from the oven, carefully turn each squash over, equally divide the mushroom mixture between each squash, sprinkle over the goat cheese, then return the squash back to the oven and cook for a further 10 to 12 minutes until the squash is fork tender and the goats cheese has browned.
To serve, take the arugula and toss lightly with the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, the lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, serve the salad with the squash.