Our CSA box often comes brimming with all manner of delicious winter squashes and one of my favorite varieties is the festival squash. These beauties are very much like a standard acorn squash but they sport a fancy paint job with a coat of yellow punctuated with orange and green racing stripes. I like to cut them in half, roast them, and fill them with all manner of delicious fillings. During cold weather months, I'm especially enamored with taco fillings.
The particular filling ingredients are less important than making sure you have about 4-5 cups of delicious stuff to tuck into the cavities of the squash. The mix below brings me and mine joy, but chicken, pork, seafood, or additional beans of various types will all work. Have some hot pepper you want to work into the mix? Go for it. Want to avoid corn? By all means. You get the idea.
These squash halves are really meals in themselves, but you could always work a bowl of chips with salsa and/or guacamole onto the table while they are finishing in the oven. While you're at it, a chilled beer or a margarita would be downright festive alongside these. Just saying!
Steak Taco Stuffed Festival Squash
- 1 large festival squash, split in half and seeds removed
- 1 T. olive oil
- 2 tsp. taco seasoning, divided
- ½ can black beans, drained
- ⅓ c. corn kernels
- ½ small red onion, chopped
- ½ c. chopped green onions
- ½ red pepper, chopped
- 2 c. cooked brown rice
- ½ - 1 c. chopped steak - great use for leftovers
- ½ c. shredded cheese
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Drizzle the squash with the olive oil, sprinkle each half of the squash with 1 teaspoon of taco seasoning, and roast for 45 mins to an hour until soft.
Meanwhile, mix the beans, onions, pepper, rice, and steak until well combined. Spoon the mixture evenly into the squash, mounding it as needed. Sprinkle evenly with the shredded cheese.
Return the now-filled squash to the oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until the filling is warmed and the cheese is melted. Serve warm.
- Yields: 2 servings
- Preparation Time: 90 minutes