Description
This vegan stuffed butternut squash is packed with wild rice, kale, thyme, walnuts & pomegranate seeds. Delicious, healthy & it looks impressive to boot!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 medium butternut squash (around 800g)
- 50g wild rice
- 1 small red onion, finely diced (around 100 g)
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme, leaves stripped from stems
- 4 tbsp pomegranate seeds (50 g)
- 1 large handful kale, leaves removed from stems and roughly chopped (around 50 g)
- 2 tbsp pine nuts (around 20 g)
- 1 tsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling on the squash
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C / 400F. Cut the butternut squash in half. See note 1. Use a spoon and scoop out the seeds from the middle of the squash and discard. Lay the squash on a foil lined baking tray – with the cut side facing up. Lightly score the top of the flesh and drizzle with olive oil and a good seasoning of salt and pepper.
- Rinse the wild rice in a bowl of water and then drain – repeat another couple of times. Place a saucepan over a medium high heat and add a tsp of olive oil. Add the onion, pine nuts and garlic and cook until softened, around 4-5 minutes. Add the rice to the saucepan with 100ml of water along with the thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Increase the heat to high and bring to the boil. When it reaches a boil, reduce the heat to low and cover. Place the butternut squash in the middle of the preheated oven.
- After the rice has been cooking for around 35-40 minutes add the kale to the pan, stir everything together and replace the lid.
- After a further 10 minutes remove the squash from the oven. Using a clean tea towel to protect your hands from the heat, spoon out a little of the flesh from the length of each piece to make a deeper ‘well’. You could keep this to have as a side dish for another meal! Cover with foil to keep warm.
- Check the rice is cooked. If not then leave over the heat for a further 5-10 minutes. If there is a lot of excess water then remove the lid and increase the heat to medium high and let it evaporate for a couple of minutes. Add the pomegranate seeds to the rice when done and stir everything together well.
- Spoon the rice mixture into the squash. Return to the oven for a further 5 minutes.
Notes
- Top tip for cutting the butternut squash. Lay the squash down lengthways, take a large kitchen knife and place it facing up the long part of the squash. Use a rolling pin to gently tap the top of the knife so it cuts through the squash. Easy, simple and much less risk to your fingers!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Vegan
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Dinner
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 squash
- Calories: 400
- Fat: 11g
- Carbohydrates: 70g
- Protein: 10g
Keywords: vegan, squash, butternut squash, vegetarian, wild rice, dinner