This nutritious, whole-grain pilaf with acorn squash makes a delicious side dish at holiday meals, but it’s great anytime. A mix of white and red quinoa looks festive, but using only white quinoa is fine, too.
The recipe was developed with various dietary restrictions in mind. It avoids the top eight food allergens (milk/dairy, egg, peanut, tree nuts, soy, wheat, fish and shellfish) and gluten. Plus, it’s free of animal products, so it can be enjoyed by vegetarians and vegans, too (see Tips for instructions to convert it to a main dish). And, as with all of our recipes, it’s made with heart-healthy ingredients.
INGREDIENTS
Squash ingredients
1 large or 2 small acorn squash (2 lb total)
2 tsp canola oil (see Tips, if allergy concerns)
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
Pilaf ingredients
2 tsp canola oil (see Tips, if allergy concerns)
1 cups chopped onion (1 medium-large)
1 cup diced celery (3 stalks)
3/4 cup quinoa, preferably a mix of white and red or tri-color, rinsed thoroughly
1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried
1 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (check ingredients if allergy, gluten or vegan concerns)
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup unsalted, hulled (green) pumpkin seeds (pepitas) or chopped hazelnuts or almonds (if no nut allergy)
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
Salt & Pepper to taste
STEPS
1. To roast squash, preheat oven to 350F. Coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray (or brush lightly with canola oil, if there’s a soy allergy concern; soy lecithin is commonly added to cooking spray). Cut squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds. Brush insides of squash with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place squash, cut side down, on prepared baking sheet. Bake until squash flesh is tender when pierced with a knife, 40 to 50 minutes.
2. Meanwhile for pilaf, heat oil in Dutch oven or 4-quart pan over medium heat on stovetop. Add onion and celery; cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add quinoa and thyme; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add broth and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, 10 minutes.
3. While quinoa simmers, toast pumpkin seeds (or nuts) in dry, medium-size skillet over medium-low heat, stirring almost constantly, until fragrant and starting to crackle, about 5 minutes.
4. After quinoa has simmered 10 minutes, stir in dried cranberries. Cook, covered, until quinoa is tender, most of the liquid has been absorbed, and quinoa grains appear to have popped open, about 5 minutes longer. Let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Add parsley, salt and pepper; fluff and mix with a fork. (Note: You can keep the pilaf warm for up to 1 hour. Cover the pan or heat-proof serving bowl and set it in a skillet of barely-simmering water.)
5. To serve: If using small squash, cut each half into 2 wedges (leave the skin on, which looks pretty and helps hold the wedges intact). If using 1 large squash, cut each half into 4wedges. Serve the squash wedges with the pilaf, topped with toasted pumpkin seeds (or nuts).
Yield: 8 servings; cup pilaf and 1 (2-oz) squash wedge each.
Per serving: Cal 200, Fat 7 g (Sat 1 g, F:S 7), Carb 31 g, Total sugars 9 g (Added 0 g), Fiber 4 g, Protein 5 g, Sodium 150 mg, Potassium 450 mg, Calcium 54 mg, Vitamin D 0 mcg, Iron 2 mg.
Recipe abbreviations: cal = calories, sat = saturated fat, F:S = total fat to saturated fat ratio, carb = carbohydrate, g = grams, mg = milligrams, mcg = micrograms, Tbsp = tablespoons, tsp = teaspoons, lb = pound, oz = ounce
TIPS
➧ Cooking oil: We’ve specified canola oil to avoid the top food allergens (soy, peanut and tree nuts). However, most common cooking oils are highly refined, which removes the allergenic proteins, and such refined oils aren’t considered to be food allergens. But, oils from allergenic foods that are not as refined (such as cold-, expeller- or extruder-pressed oils, as identified on the label), which you may find in a natural food store or gourmet section of a store, might contain enough residual protein to potentially provoke an allergic reaction.
➧ For gluten-free guests: Serve the pilaf (with or without squash) as a gluten-free alternative to traditional bread stuffing. Quinoa is inherently gluten-free, but cross-contamination can occur during processing and in bulk bins. If you are serving this to anyone following a gluten-free diet, purchase quinoa in a package labeled gluten-free.
➧ For vegetarian/vegan guests: To serve this recipe as a vegetarian main dish, roast enough squash so that there is a squash half for each vegetarian (and 1/8 of a large or of a small squash for each non-vegetarian guest to eat as a side dish). Spoon pilaf into roasted squash halves; sprinkle with toasted pumpkin seeds.
➧ To make it in advance: You can prepare the squash and quinoa pilaf (through Step 4) up to 3 days ahead and store in separate covered containers in the refrigerator. To reheat squash in the microwave: Place the squash wedges (or halves, for a main dish) in a microwave-safe dish (use a round dish if your microwave has a turntable), add 2 Tbsp water, cover with a lid or wax paper and microwave on high until heated through, about 5 minutes. To reheat pilaf in the microwave, place in a microwave-safe dish, add cup water, cover with a lid or wax paper and microwave on high until heated through, 8 to 10 minutes.