ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH WITH SAGE & MUSHROOM STUFFING (VEGAN, GF)
Tania Pilcher | Fit Foodie Nutter
This roasted butternut squash with sage & mushroom stuffing is a delicious meat free addition to your festive table or a traditional Sunday roast. A delicious combination of sweet & nutty autumnal flavours that will have your guests asking for seconds. Vegan & gluten free.
Optional: 3tbsp nutritional yeast flakes or parmesan for non-vegan version
For the mushroom & sage stuffing:
2red onions, finely chopped
1tbspcoconut sugar
200gmushrooms, finely sliced
1tbspsmoked paprika
¼tspfreshly ground nutmeg
10sage leaves, finely chopped
½red chilli pepper, seeds removed and finely chopped
Zest & juice of 1 clementine
Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 190C, 170C fan.
Wash the squash and wipe dry. Cut in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Season the halves with 1 tbsp olive oil, salt & pepper and nutmeg and roast in the oven for 40-50 minutes (cut side up) until just tender.
Whilst the squash is roasting, prepare the pesto by combining spinach, toasted walnuts, garlic, olive oil, water, lemon juice, salt & pepper and nutritional yeast flakes (use parmesan for non-vegan version) in a high speed blender. Blitz until smooth (you might want to add a little more water depending on how powerful your blender is).
Now it’s time to prepare the stuffing. In a frying pan, sautee finely chopped red onions for a couple of minutes over medium heat until just softened. Add a tablespoon of coconut sugar and cook for a further 2 minutes. Now add sliced mushrooms, smoked paprika (not hot spicy paprika), nutmeg, finely chopped sage & red chilli, zest and juice of one clementine and cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes.
At this stage the butternut squash should be ready. Once it’s cool enough to handle, gently scoop out the ‘flesh’ of the butternut squash with a spoon, leaving a 3-4cm border around the sides. Be careful not to pierce the skin of the squash when you’re scooping out the flesh. Dice the flesh of the butternut squash that you’ve just scooped out into small size chunks and add them into the pan with the stuffing. Cook for a further 2 minutes to allow all the flavours come together.
In a separate pan or saucepan, wilt the spinach by cooking it over a medium heat with a little squeeze of juice from half a clementine and season with salt & pepper. Once the spinach has wilted (it should take 2-3 minutes), transfer it to a sieve and squeeze firmly with a spatula or a spoon to remove excess water. Make sure you try to remove as much water as you can.
You can now start stuffing the butternut squash. Drain all the oil from chargrilled peppers (I normally place the peppers on the paper towel and squeeze them gently to remove access oil) and line them at the bottom of the squash cavities. Layer the mushroom and sage stuffing on top of red peppers, add blobs of pesto and top with wilted spinach. Carefully place one stuffed half on top of the other and tie the squash from both ends with a piece of kitchen string. Place the squash in a roasting tin along with cherry tomatoes and garlic drizzled with 1 tbsp olive oil and seasoned with salt & pepper and roast in the oven for 15-20 until cooked through.
Serve roasted squash with some grains (wild rice or quinoa would work really well) and a generous helping of cranberry sauce for that festive flavour.