I had several acorn squash left over from our last CSA shipment, and today’s delectable dish really fit the bill. As tasty as it is beautiful, this vegetarian side can easily be made into a entree with the addition of soup and a salad. Recipe courtesy of The NO-SALT Cookbook by David & Thomas Anderson.
Serves 2.
SODIUM CONTENT: 42 mg per serving
INGREDIENTS
1 medium acorn squash
2 T. unsalted butter
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 c. chopped mushrooms
3 T. chopped fresh parsley
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 c. salt-free bread crumbs (available in some supermarkets and online at healthyheartmarket.com)
1 c. grated low-sodium cheese (Gouda or Swiss)
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash the outside of the squash well and pat dry. Cut the squash in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds and discard. Place the squash halves cut side down in a baking pan and add 1/2-inch water. Place pan on middle rack in oven and bake 30 minutes, or until squash is soft when pierced with a fork.
While the squash is cooking, melt the butter in a saute pan over medium-high. Add the onion and saute several minutes, until translucent. Add the mushrooms, parsley and pepper and continue cooking for a few minutes. Stir in the lemon juice. Remove pan from heat and transfer contents to a mixing bowl.
Once the squash is cooked, remove pan from oven. Carefully scoop most of the cooked squash out of each shell, being careful to keep shells intact. Add the cooked squash to the mushroom mixture, and set the reserved shells aside.
In another small mixing bowl, combine the bread crumbs and grated cheese. Add about 2/3 of the mixture to the mushroom bowl, and stir well to combine. Divide the mushroom mixture between the two acorn shells and fill. Place the shells into a dry baking pan and sprinkle the remaining bread crumb mixture over top. Return the pan to the 350 degree oven and bake 15-20 minutes, until bread crumbs have toasted, cheese has melted and the mixture has heated through. Remove from oven and serve immediately.
