I made this meal to use up sunburst squash that I purchased at our farmers’ market. The filling was inspired by what I had on hand, so you can substitute different vegetables if you like. Tomatoes, corn, and mushrooms would all work well.
You Will Need:
- Olive oil or other mildly-flavored oil
- 1/2 Onion
- Bell pepper
- [Optional: 1/2 serrano pepper (if you like heat)]
- Cooked rice
- Salt
- Paprika
- Squash with edible rind
- Strong cheese, such as cheddar (I used leftover Mexican four-cheese mix)
Skillet, preferably nonstick (one available burner on your stove)
Knife
Cutting board
Spoon from your silverware drawer
Wooden spoon
Cheese grater (unless using pre-shredded cheese)
Baking tray
Oven
Oven mitt
Tongs (to remove squash from oven without tearing it)
Steps
1. Preheat oven to 425ºF.
2. Heat some oil in a skillet over medium heat. You don’t need more than about 1/2 tablespoon.
3. Finely chop onion and pepper. You want small pieces so they will form a more uniform texture with the rice. Remove any seeds from the pepper.
5. Add vegetables to skillet and season. Sprinkle with salt (just a pinch) and paprika (a few good shakes). You should cook until the onions become translucent, but they don’t need to brown. Stir occasionally to prevent anything from burning.
6. Hollow out the squash. While the filling cooks, rinse the squash to remove any dirt, then cut off the portion around the stem, as you would if carving a pumpkin. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and guts. You want to end up with a hollow cavity where you can fit the stuffing.
7. Add rice to vegetables. Since the rice is already cooked, you just need to reheat it. Stir it with the vegetables so the spices will coat the rice.
8. Grate cheese. You’ll want enough to top the squash with cheese, plus extra to stir into the leftover filling.
9. Stuff squash and top with cheese. Transfer as much filling to the squash as possible. You may need to pack it down with a spoon. Once the squash is thoroughly stuffed, pile cheese on top. Transfer to baking sheet.
10. Adjust heat on stove. Once you have stuffed the squash, turn the heat to low and let the rest of the rice mixture stay in the pan.
11. Bake squash. Depending on the size of squash, this step will take around 25 minutes (more if very large squash). When it is ready, the skin will look shriveled and the cheese will be toasted.
IMPORTANT: If any bits of cheese fall from the squash to the pan, they will burn within the first few minutes of cooking. If/when you smell smoke, simply remove the squash from the oven, scrape off the burnt pieces, and continue cooking. Most of the cheese will stay on top of the squash as it melts.
12. Add cheese to remaining filling. Stir until it melts and taste for seasoning. Add extra cheese or spices if it seems too bland. Don’t worry about leaving it in the hot pan as you wait for the squash; the bits of cheese and rice that toast on the bottom of the pan are the best part!
13. Serve as shown. Enjoy!
