Stuffed Butternut Squash

There are so many delicious ways to prepare butternut squash. You can make a stew, grill them, even enjoy them in a dessert, but stuffing them with all kinds of vegetables, rice, and lots of herbs is my all-time autumn favorite. I love the combination of stuffed butternut squash and tomato sauce because they compliment each other so well. You can of course serve it with your favorite choice of sauce as well. This deliciousness is gluten-, soy-, and nut free and of course vegan!

Ingredients:

(For 4 servings)

• 2 medium-size butternut squash (about 2½ lb/1100 g each), halved lengthwise, seeds scooped out
• 4 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• ½ tsp Celtic sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp dried rosemary

For the stuffing:

• 1 cup (190 g) wild rice blend
• 2 cups (480 ml) vegetable broth
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium-size sweet onion, diced
• 6 oz (170 g) portobello mushrooms, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 carrots, finely diced
• 2 sticks celery, diced
• ½ cup (70 g) sweet corn (frozen)
• ½ cup (70 g) green peas (frozen)
• cracked black pepper
• 2 tsp dried rosemary
• 1½ tsp Celtic sea salt
• ½ cup fresh parsley, minced

For tomato sauce:

• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 sweet onion, diced
• generous 3 lb (1500 g) tomatoes, diced
• 3 Tbsp homemade veggie broth concentrate or store-bought vegetable broth concentrate to taste
• 1-2 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning or 1 tsp of each dried thyme, basil, and oregano
• minced fresh herbs like thyme, oregano, basil, parsley to taste

Top with:

• vegan Parmesan (optional)
• more fresh herbs

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C.
2. Follow instructions on package to cook wild rice blend with 2 cups (480ml) of vegetable broth.
3. Rub the cut sides of the butternut squash halves with extra virgin olive oil, Celtic sea salt, black pepper, and rosemary. Arrange cut side down on a baking tray and bake for about 45 minutes. For easy cleanup, you can line the tray with a silicone baking mat.
4. Meanwhile prepare tomato sauce. Preheat a large pot or saucepan with olive oil over medium heat. Add diced onion and sauté for about 7 minutes until onion is soft.
5. Add diced tomatoes, and stir in all other sauce ingredients except for fresh herbs. Cook for about 20 minutes over medium low heat until tomatoes fall apart. If you like a smooth sauce, use an immersion blender to remove all the chunks.
6. For the stuffing, preheat a large frying pan with extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and sauté for about 7 minutes.
7. Add mushrooms and sauté until all the liquid from the mushrooms is gone, about 7 minutes.
8. Stir in garlic with carrots and sauté for 3 more minutes.
9. Add celery, frozen corn and peas, pepper, rosemary, salt, and sauté until corn and peas are thawed. Turn off heat.
10. When the squash halves are fork tender, take them out of the oven and reduce the heat to 375°F/190°C. Let them cool down a bit until you can handle them. Use a spoon to scrape out most of the pulp, but leave about ½“ (1¼ cm) on the sides and the bottom. Mix the scraped out pulp with sautéed vegetables, rice, and parsley until well combined.
11. Over-stuff the squash halves with the veggie rice mixture and place in the oven to reheat for about 10 minutes.
12. Reheat tomato sauce and stir in minced herbs.
13. Top with vegan Parmesan (optional) and fresh herbs, Enjoy!

Notes:

• For a little extra crunch, you could add chopped pecans.
• Instead of tomato sauce, you could serve it with vegan mushroom gravy or tomato basil sauce as well.