Stuffed Butternut Squash
An elegant centerpiece for festive gatherings: Whole roasted butternut squash generously filled with a delicious blend of hearty mushrooms, apricots, cranberry herbs and spices —a plant-based masterpiece, effortlessly prepared for your Christmas feast or family celebrations
Ingredients
- 1 large butternut squash
- 1 large brown onion finely diced
- 225 grams button mushrooms finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ cup rolled oats
- 50 grams dried apricots finely diced
- 40 grams dried cranberry
- 1 can lentils drained and rinsed
- 1 cup walnut halves
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 4 leave sage
- 1 tbsp tamari
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200℃ (400℉)
- Slice the squash lengthways down the middle and place each side on a lined baking tray. Add around the squash other roast vegetables (baby potatoes, kumara (sweet potatoes), carrot, cashews, cranberries).
- Place in oven and cook for 45 minutes to soften slightly
- Meanwhile, we start on the stuffing. Blend the rolled oats in a food processor for around 30 seconds on pulse to create coarse flour.
- Next add in the lentils, walnuts and apricots, and pulse until all is coarsely chopped but not a paste. Set aside.
- In a frying pan, dry-fry with a small amount of water the onions until they are translucent. Then add in the mushrooms and garlic, and saute for 6-8 minutes.
- Add in the herbs and gently mix through. Then add all the other ingredients, including the rolled oats mix, but excluding the squash. Mix and heat through, and set aside.
- Once the squash is roasted, scoop out the seeds and discard.
- Next using a spoon scoop out a channel down both pieces of squash at the same depth and the seed casing area.
- Add the stuffing mix inside the scooped out sides, pressing in firmly and joining both squashes together. Tie it securely with some string to hold it together while it cooks.
- Place the squash back in the oven still with the other vegetables for 15 minutes or until all vegetables are soft when pierced with a fork.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!