Tempeh and Kale Stuffed Acorn Squash

Tempeh and Kale Stuffed Acorn Squash

 I made this recipe before starting the blog: http://delishknowledge.com/kale-and-tempeh-stuffed-acorn-squash/ It was one of my all time favorites and it is a nutritional powerhouse. The above picture if from the first time I made this recipe.  It is vegan and gluten free (depending on the tempeh)! Many of you are probably wondering what tempeh is. Tempeh is a fermented soybean cake/patty. While tofu is made from soy milk, tempeh is made from whole soy beans and has a nutty taste. Tempeh is available at many supermarkets and is pretty inexpensive. I love to add it to curries just like I would meat or tofu.

1. To start this recipe, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. While the oven is preheating, you can prepare your two acorn squashes. Halve each of the squashes so that you have a top with the stem and the bottom with the base.

3. Scoop out the seeds and scrap some of the loose strands from the inside of the squash halves with a spoon. Don't scrap too much out. If you want the dish to be a little extra decadent, you can rub a little oil (or butter if you aren't vegan) and brown sugar on the inside.

Flip the halves face down.

4. Bake the squash for 30 minutes.

5. While the squash is baking, you can get some of the prep out of the way. In a bowl, mix in 1 cup of vegetable broth (or chicken broth if you aren't a vegetarian) and a 1/4 of a cup of soy sauce (tamari sauce or Braggs Liquid Aminos to keep the recipe gluten free). Keep in mind you will need to set aside an additional 1/2 a cup of broth for an upcoming step. Crumble the tempeh with your fingers into the marinade. Tempeh crumbles pretty easily.

Let the tempeh marinade for 30 minutes which is the same amount of time the squash should be in the oven for.

6. Finally chop 1 onion and set aside.
7. Combine the following small bowl:

• 3 cloves or (more) of garlic that has been finely minced
• 2 teaspoons fennel seeds has been chopped. A less messy way of doing this is putting the seeds in a small ziplock bag and roll them with a rolling pin
• 2 teaspoons of dried thyme
• A teaspoon of dried rosemary
• 3/4 of a teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon of dried sage

8. When the squash is done baking in the oven, you can starting cooking the filling. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet or dutch oven. I like using a dutch oven because it gives you plenty of room for the kale. Throw in the onions and cook until browned for about 5 minutes.

9. Throw in the garlic spice mixture into the cooking onions and combine.

Your kitchen will start smelling like sausage, increasing your appetite.

10. Drain your tempeh out of the marinade and throw the tempeh crumbes into the onion spice mixture. Do not put the broth soy sauce mixture into the onion mixture.

Brown the tempeh for about 15 minutes until it is golden brown. Make sure the heat isn't too high because you can burn the spices.

11. Deglaze the bottom of your pan with the 1/2 a cup of broth. Make sure you scrape all the brown bits.

12. Throw in your 6 cups of chopped kale into the mixture. I bought one of those bags with prechopped and washed kale. If not all the kale fits in initially, the kale will shrink as it cooks giving you more room to put the rest of your kale in. Mix the kale with the tempeh mixture. At this time, turn your broiler on. The mixture is done once the kale shrinks down.

13. Stuff the baked squash with as much of the mixture as possible. Leftover filling can be enjoyed later. Sprinkle the top of the squash with chopped walnuts. I thought I had walnuts at the time, but I didn't. I used some slivered almonds instead. I think the walnuts would have been better like the first time I made this.

14. Broil the squash for 3-4 minutes. I wish I had only done it for 2 minutes.

15. Enjoy!

The next blog entry with be healthy chocolate frozen yogurt. Stay tuned.