Moroccan Stuffed Acorn Squash

I made this a week ago when we had our neighbor Jobi over for dinner. While enjoying good wine and company I neglected to take a photo of this delicious dish! Squash was on sale this week at Busch's so I stocked up and made plans to do this dish again this week - again, it did not disappoint and I expect Thad and I will be eagerly sharing the leftovers tomorrow at lunch.

This recipe makes 4 good size servings. I served it with a salad (which I also took a photo of because it was so pretty!). We love these compari tomatoes!

Moroccan Stuffed Acorn Squash Recipe
serves 4

 Ingredients

• 2 acorn squashes, halved and seeded (I saved the seeds and roasted them and we added on top of our salad, with plenty left over to snack on)
• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3/4 lb lean ground beef (I thought about substituting turkey but decided the taste for this dish really required beef - I used lean grass fed beef)
• ground cinnamon
• ground nutmeg
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 cup bulgur wheat
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 2 TB toasted pine nuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400. Place squash, cut sides down, in a casserole dish or baking pan (I use my Pampered Chef baking sheet). Bake 35-40 minutes until tender.
2. At the same time, heat oil in a large pot over med-high heat. Add ground beef, a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg, and 1 tsp salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until browned and cooked through, 5-7 min. Using a slotted spoon remove beef from pot.
3. Add onion and cook until slightly translucent, about 5 min. Add garlic and cook til fragrant, about 30 sec. Add 1 tsp salt and the bulgur wheat. Stir to combine. Add water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to med-low, cover and cook for 15 min. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork, add beef, raisins, parsley and pine nuts.
4. Scrape out baked squashes forming 1/2 inch thick bowls. Fold flesh into bulgur and meat mixture. Divide among squashes and return to oven. Bake until warmed through and tops are browned, 12-14 minutes.

This recipe was from wholeliving.com

I calculated the nutrition values (per serving): 538 cal, 28 g fat, 72 mg cholesterol,  54g carbs, 9.5g fiber, 1200mg sodium, 7.7g sugars, 20.5g protein. High in Vitamin B-12, B-6, C, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Niacin, Phosphorus, Thiamin, Zinc.


After calculating I think it could be worth trying to use a little less salt in the recipe and perhaps a mix of turkey and beef to reduce the fat and sodium in the recipe. I also think half the oil could be used in browning the meat, which would also help with the fat content.