I’ve had the opportunity to try a variety of winter squashes through my CSA delivery, but most of them haven’t been approved by the huz. He usually eats anything I make, and rarely will complain when he is the guinea pig in my food experiments, but acorn squash is officially off the table. After the acorn squash episode, I was wary of trying any new squashes, but the large bin of delicata squash at Trader Joe’s was just calling my name a few months ago. Since then, I’ve picked some up multiple times.

One of the reasons I love this squash is that it is much easier to work with than butternut squash and cooks up quicker as well. It makes for a perfect post-work meal. I also prefer to keep the meal vegan – it keeps the meal fairly light and allows the flavours in the stuffing and the squash shine through.

The first couple of times I made the stuffed squash, I used up leftovers in the refrigerator to make the stuffing. Rice, beans, quinoa, tofu and any other veggies you have in the refrigerator work really well. If you plan in advance, making extra stuffing ingredients will make for a quicker dinner the next day. A few things to note: because the squash isn’t that large, it works best when the ingredients in the stuffing are chopped into small pieces; secondly, if you are using leftovers, I recommend adding something to the mix that will give the stuffing some moisture so it doesn’t dry out completely in the oven.

Tonight, I opted for stuffing the squash with potatoes, tofu and kale. It smells so good in the house right now – hopefully, we’ll be able to plant our own squash next winter and have a continuous supply of this wonderful vegetable.

Ingredients

• 4 medium delicata squash
• 2 medium potatoes cut into small cubes
• 1 small onion, minced
• 1 stalk celery, minced
• 1 bunch kale, chopped finely
• 1 block firm tofu, crumbled
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• salt and pepper to taste (season generously since the squash will not be seasoned)

1. Scrub squash to clean – cut in half lengthwise and removed seeds.
2. Add oil to a pan to sauté potatoes, onions and celery. Gently stir until vegetables begin to soften.
3. Add the kale into the veggie mix and season.
4. Crumble the tofu into the pan and mix contents
5. Once the tofu has dried up a bit from cooking, add the nutritional yeast and remove from heat.
6. Stuff the prepared squash and place on a greased baking sheet.
7. Bake for 25 minutes at 400F or until squash is soft.