Once tender, the peels pull off super easily, and then you’ll very finely dice the potatoes. If you’re not microwaving the potatoes, I’d recommend cooking the potatoes according to this Baked Sweet Potatoes recipe first.
STUFFED ACORN SQUASH RECIPE SKIN
Cut the potatoes in half, peel the skin off (it should easily slip right off), and dice into very small pieces.You’ll know the potatoes are ready when they are easily pierced in the center with a fork.Continue to microwave the potatoes in 1-minute bursts until the potatoes are cooked through. Larger sweet potatoes will take longer, and when cooking multiple potatoes at the same time, it will take even longer. An 8-ounce (1/2 pound) sweet potato takes about 5 minutes to cook on 100% power.Use a fork to pierce the potato a few times. The only prep you have to do is poke a few small holes in the potato so the steam can escape.It totally works since we’re adding them to a filling mixture that goes into the Stuffed Acorn Squash recipe. So we use a shortcut here - the microwave oven. Typically, sweet potatoes take quite a bit of time to cook until tender and they’re hard to chop when they’re unbaked. This liquid will evaporate when added to the filling and further infuse the filling with flavor.Īfter roasting the squash, don’t turn off the oven! We return the Stuffed Acorn Squash to the oven to bake again! It’s okay if there is a little liquid left with the rice (as pictured above).The rice will add all the seasonings needed. Between the stock and salt added to the rice, it ends up quite salty - this is intended so you don’t need to season the filling later on.Swanson’s® chicken stock is a personal favorite. We recommend a robustly flavored chicken or vegetable stock to cook the rice in - it adds a deep savory flavor.When preparing this meal, start with the wild rice - it takes the longest to cook. Wild rice takes quite a while to cook so make sure to plan ahead.To infuse the wild rice with plenty of flavor, we cook it in chicken stock with a few seasonings and a pat of butter.I highly recommend that blend if you are able to find it you’ll find it near other varieties of rice, quinoa, and couscous in most grocery stores. The rice that I’ve had the best results with is this Wild Rice Blend by Lundberg®. Wild rice isn’t like regular rice it’s much heavier and dense, so the blend helps keep it from being weighed down. While you can use plain wild rice (not to be mistaken with black rice - read about differences here), I like using a wild rice blend best. That said, a lot of the work can be done ahead of time which does make this a great dish for serving to guests or preparing for vegetarian or vegan eaters for Thanksgiving.īelow we’ll break down each component of this recipe with helpful tips and tricks to make the preparation of Stuffed Acorn Squash as straightforward as possible! Between cooking the wild rice, roasting the squash, and preparing the filling, there is a lot of time involved. While no part of this recipe is overly complicated or technical (the steps are simple!), this is a meal that does require a good amount of preparation time. Stuffed Acorn Squash has a deep savoriness from the seasoned wild rice and pops of sweetness from the cranberries and apple - it’s got it all. I am so excited to share this recipe it’s one of my all-time favorites! This is one of those meals you just feel great eating - there are so many good-for-you ingredients! With so many textures and bold, complementary flavors, this dish makes nutritious eating fun! Pair Acorn Stuffed Squash with a simple Winter Fruit Salad or this easy Pear Salad. Stuffed Acorn Squash takes perfectly roasted and slightly caramelized acorn squash and loads it up with seasoned wild rice, tender sweet potatoes, crisp green apples, and more! This is nutritious warming comfort food at its best!