Chipotle Turkey and Wild Rice Stuffed Squash

My stuffed squash is light and healthy without any sacrifice to the flavour!

We often hear about beauty and abundance of the summer fruits and vegetables but I think that autumn is unfairly underrated. Just look at the colours and vibrancy on this plate! I don’t think I need to go on and on to prove my point. Harvest veggies are the best. 🙂
I’ve used this recipe in the past with eggplant and my family always loved it but when I swapped an eggplant for a squash, beef for turkey, added wild rice, chipotle peppers and feta cheese I realised that I ended up with a completely different animal.

After tasting it Brad proclaimed, “if you must stuff anything, please let it be SQUASH” and I agreed stuffed squash for the win. Our children approached it with suspicion while preparing numerous excuses of why they are not hungry but after the second bite were gobbling it up like it was their favourite pizza. Happy mummy indeed!

This stuffed sqush is literally bursting with bold flavours of chipotle, cilantro, red peppers and squash. The nutritional benefits of all the listed above plus lean turkey meat and wild rice is a HUGE bonus.

Ingredients: {Serves 4}

• Coquina or Butternut Squash- 2 small
• Olive oil- 1 tbsp.
• Onion, chopped- 1 medium (I used 2 small as you can see on the picture)
• Garlic, chopped- 2 cloves
• Cilantro, chopped- 10-12 sprigs
• Red bell pepper, diced- 1 large
• Ground Turkey (I used turkey thighs)- 1lbs/500gr
• Tomato paste- 1 tbsp.
• Chipotle paste- 1 tbsp.
• Wild rice, cooked- 1 cup
• Feta cheese, crumbled- 2 tbsp.
• Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Cook wild rice in a saucepan in proportion 1/2 cup of wild rice to 3 cups of salted water for 40-45 minutes until the grains have popped.  Drain and set aside. Preheat your oven to 400F/200C

2. Cut your unpeeled squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Place the squash on a baking sheet or a roasting pan cut side down and roast for 40 minutes until squash is tender.

3. When the squash is cool enough to handle scoop out the flesh but leave a 1″ border to make a cup that will hold our filling.

4. Now, let’s prepare our turkey and wild rice filling. It’s very important to build flavour into it so it doesn’t taste bland. In 1 tbsp. of olive oil cook your chopped onions, cilantro (leaves and stalks), garlic and diced bell pepper over medium heat for 10 minutes.

5. Add turkey and continue cooking until the meat in no longer pink, then add  tomato paste and chipotle peppers, combine everything. Now add wild rice and mashed squash, salt and pepper, taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.

6. Divide the mixture among 4 squash halves, sprinkle with feta cheese.

7. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 350F/180C. Sprinkle with additional feta and chopped cilantro.

Chipotle Turkey and Wild Rice Stuffed Coquina Squash

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Servings: 4

Author: Julia Frey of Vikalinka

Ingredients

• Coquina or Butternut Squash- 2 small
• Olive oil- 1 tbsp.
• Onion chopped- 1 medium (I used 2 small as you can see on the picture)
• Garlic chopped- 2 cloves
• Cilantro chopped- 10-12 sprigs
• Red bell pepper diced- 1 large
• Ground Turkey I used turkey thighs- 1lbs/500gr
• Tomato paste- 1 tbsp.
• Chipotle paste- 1 tbsp.
• Wild rice cooked- 1 cup
• Feta cheese crumbled- 2 tbsp.
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

• Cook wild rice in a saucepan in proportion 1/2 cup of wild rice to 3 cups of salted water for 40-45 minutes until the grains have popped. Drain and set aside. Preheat your oven to 400F/200C
• Cut your unpeeled squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Place the squash on a baking sheet or a roasting pan cut side down and roast for 40 minutes until squash is tender.
• When the squash is cool enough to handle scoop out the flesh but leave a 1" border to make a cup that will hold our filling.
• Now, let's prepare our turkey and wild rice filling. It's very important to build flavour into it so it doesn't taste bland. In 1 tbsp. of olive oil cook your chopped onions, cilantro (leaves and stalks), garlic and diced bell pepper over medium heat for 10 minutes.
• Add turkey and continue cooking until the meat in no longer pink, then add tomato paste and chipotle peppers, combine everything. Now add wild rice and mashed squash, salt and pepper, taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
• Divide the mixture among 4 squash halves, sprinkle with feta cheese.
• Bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 350F/180C. Sprinkle with additional feta and chopped cilantro.

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