Autumn is the ideal time of year for small oven dishes and comfort food. For the seasonal recipe we put a forgotten vegetable in the spotlight: the squash.
The squash comes from the cucurbit family, is low in calories and contains many minerals, especially potassium. They sometimes call it the 'Spanish artichoke', and its taste is completely different from that of other pumpkiny. The shape is perfectly suited to hollow out and fill, just like we did in the following recipe:
Ingredients for 4 people
- 4 squash
- 600 g minced meat (beef, pig, chicken or lamb)
- 300 to 400 g fresh spinach
- 2 large carrots (or 3 smaller ones)
- 2 shallots or 1 onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 20 g butter
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- 2 tablespoons flour
- Salt and pepper
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 180°C.
- Bring water to a boil in a casserole and immerse the squash for 10 minutes. Get them out of the water and dry them. Then cut the top of the squash so you can use it as a hat later on. Remove the fleshy parts and all seeds with a spoon.
- Peel and chop the shallots or onion and garlic. Clean the carrots and cut them into a brunoise. Rinse the fresh spinach and drain it.
- Melt 20 g butter and a little oil in a pan, add the garlic and shallots until they become glassy.
- Add the carrots and thyme. Stir everything and then add the minced meat until it becomes crumbly.
- Add the spinach and stir again. Cover for 15 minutes.
- Season with pepper and salt. Sprinkle with flour and stir again to finish the filling.
- Fill up the squash, cover them with their 'hats' and put them in the oven for 20 minutes.
Tip: you can serve the squash with rice and a marinara sauce. Prefer vegetarian? Then you can replace the minced meat with chickpeas, haloumi or quorn, depending on your taste.
