Exquisite delicata squash packed with the light flavour of bok choy. Exquisite delicata squash packed with the light flavour of bok choy. This recipes combines the wonderfully light flavours with protein rich soya mince.

Delicata squash is easy to prepare. Its natural succulence stands on its it. When I was working on this recipe, I tried to keep that innate flavour. This motivates the choice of soya mince as the filling. It has a fairly neutral flavour.

The bok choy is destiny’s choice. I was intending on using celery, but when I walked into the store, there was a stack of beautiful heads of bok choy. As it’s not something I can often get in organic quality, it’s been years since I’ve used it in my cooking. What a wonderful treat it was.

Bok choy and delicata squash have fairly light flavours. I knew I wanted to add onions, but without losing that lightness. In my initial approach, I tried adding onions to the mix, hoping they’d bake enough in the stuffing. They didn’t. It was okay, but the pungent flavour was dominant.

On my second try, I went for the frying approach. It’s important not to overcook the onions, since as they caramelize they’ll weigh down the flavour. I’m sure it’ll still be great, but not that delicate flavour that so honours the namesake ingredient.

Melted cheese on top is entirely optional. Any medium-hard, or even hard, cheese will do. The otherwise light flavour gives you a chance to try out the strong cheeses in small quantities.

Get stuffing!

Bok Choy Stuffed Delicata Squash

Ingredients

Squash

  1. 4 small 1800 g
    Delicata Squash

Stuffing Main

  1. 100 g 2 cup
    FineSoya Mince
  2. 1 medium 350 g
    Bok Choy
  3. 2 medium 320 g
    Red Onion

Stuffing Spices

  1. ¹⁄₂ teaspoon
    Peppercornground
  2. ¹⁄₂ teaspoon
    Salt
  3. ¹⁄₄ teaspoon
    Chili Flakesground
  4. ¹⁄₄ teaspoon
    GroundNutmeg
  5. 50 g 11 teaspoon
    extra virginOlive Oil

Finishing

  1. 100 g
    Medium-HardCheese (Gouda)grated (optional)
  2. 20 g 4 teaspoon
    extra virginOlive Oil
  3. ¹⁄₄ teaspoon
    Salt

Equipment

  • frying pan
  • stove
  • baking sheet
  • baking paper
  • oven
  • large mixing bowl
  • small pot
  • strainer

Directions

Prepare Squash

  1. Turn the oven to 180°C.
  2. Halve the delicata squash and remove the seeds.
  3. Place the open sides down on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
  4. Put the tray in the oven and let the squas bake for 15 minutes. The squash should be partially soft, but still firm enough to handle. Erring on the soft side and treating gently is a safe option.
  5. Remove the tray with the squash from the oven.

Prepare Soya

  1. Put the soya mince in a pot and cover with about a half liter of water.
  2. Place the pot on the stove and bring the water to a boil.
  3. Turn off the heat and let the soya soak in the hot water for at least 5 minutes.
  4. Drain the soya mince and transfer it to the large mixing bowl.

Prepare Stuffing

  1. Chop the onions and put them in a frying pan.
  2. Fry the onions until they have a slightly glassy look, but don't caramelzie them. About 5 minutes.
  3. Transfer the onions to the mixing bowl.
  4. Chop the bok choy into small pieces and add it to the mixing bowl.
  5. Add the pepper, salt, chili, and muskat to the mixing bowl and mix well.
  6. Add the olive oil to the mixing bowl and mix well.

Finishing

  1. Turn over the squash so the open sides are facing up.
  2. Spread the additional olive oil over the insides of the squash. Sprinkle with salt.
  3. Fill the squash with the stuffing. Try to pack in a lot and let it pile up on the squash. You may wish to squeeze the stuffing together in the mixing bowl. Don't worry if some falls over the side of the squash, or you have left-overs — the stuffing tastes nice even if not in the squash.
  4. Optionally, spread cheese over the squash.
  5. Bake in the oven at 180°C for another 10 minutes. The squash flesh should be soft.