Delicata Squash Stuffed With White Beans, Spinach and Sage

This meal evolved over the course of a day and a half, but it's hardly THAT laborious. This is the first time I'd ever cooked, and perhaps eaten, delicata squash. And it's one of the first times I've cooked with dried beans, besides throwing them into a soup, that is. It's a nod to using up what was around, and tweaking an existing recipe I found elsewhere online to make it gluten-free. Omitting the sprinkling of cheese I added at the end would make it dairyfree as well, but the picorino romano added lots of punch here and complemented the sage and the garlic quite nicely.

1 delicata squash, halved and seeds scooped out
1 c dried white beans, soaked overnight
1 large garlic clove, minced
extra-virgin olive oil
2-3 c baby spinach leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh sage leaves
1 c leftover brown rice
1/4 cup grated piccorino romano cheese


Bring a pot of water, about 4 cups, to a light boil over medium heat. Add beans. Cook for about 1 1/2 hours or until beans are tender but not splitting. Drain (but reserve some of the liquid) and set beans aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the squash halves (cut side up) on a sheet pan or in a baking dish. Drizzle the surfaces with some olive oil, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bake in the oven until the flesh is tender when pierced with a knife or fork, about 1 hour. Remove the squash halves from the oven and set aside.

For the filling, heat a little extra-virgin olive oil (about 1-2 Tbsp) in a saute pan over medium heat until hot, then add the minced garlic and saute for about 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the greens and saute until wilted. Now add leftover rice and the cooked white beans and continue cooking the mixture until the beans and rice are heated through. The leftover rice is probably dry from being in the refrigerator, so add a few tablespoons of the bean liquid to the pan. Stir in the chopped fresh sage, season to taste with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper, and set aside to cool slightly.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Fill the squash halves with rice mixture. Sprinkle freshly grated piccorino romano cheese over each squash half. Since everything is cooked this is really just a 5-10 minute cook time to warm up the squash and to melt the cheese (if using).

Serves 2