Red Quinoa & Kale Stuffed Butternut Squash

RED-QUINOA & KALE STUFFED BUTTERNUT SQUASH

Ingredients:

Butternut squash, scooped out, then roughly chop the scooped out squash
1 Teaspoon Cumin
1 Teaspoon Coriander
1/2 Cup Red Quinoa
1/2 Onion, small diced
1/2 bunch kale, destemmed and roughly chopped
1 Cup Vegetable Broth
3 Tablespoons Currants
2 Tablespoons Almonds
2 Tablespoons Grated Parmesan Cheese
Gruyere Cheese for shaving

Directions:

1. Prep & roast the butternut squash halves:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Heat a large pot of salted water to boiling on medium-high heat. Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out and discard the seeds. Cut or scoop out as much of the butternut squash as possible for the filling. (This can be tough, so if you get frustrated, just try to scoop out enough so you can partly fill the squash.) Drizzle the insides of be squash with a little olive oil and half of both the cumin and coriander and rub in the spices. Season with salt and pepper and roast for 25 to 30 minutes, or until slightly browned and tender when pierced with a knife.

2. Cook the quinoa:
Once the water is boiling, add the quinoa and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, or until tender. Drain thoroughly.

3. Start the filling:
While the squash is roasting and the quinoa is cooking, in a large pan, heat a little olive oil on medium-high heat until hot. Add the onion and chopped butternut squash. Sauté for 4 to 5 minutes or until softened. Add the remaining cumin & coriander and toast the spices for 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until throughly combined, stirring frequently.

4. Finish the filling:
Add the kale, currants and vegetable broth. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the kale is wilted, the currants are plump and most of the vegetable broth has cooked off. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the drained quinoa, almonds and half of the Parmesan cheese. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until thoroughly combined and heated through. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.

5. Bake the stuffed squashes:
When cool enough to handle, sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese inside the baked squash halves and fill each halve with as much filling as possible. Line the sheet pan with any remaining stuffing. Then, using a vegetable peeler, create shavings of Gryuere cheese and lay on top of the filling. Bake for 5 to 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.