How to Bake Acorn Squash with Apples

Acorn squash has tough, dark green flesh with orange patches. It's shaped like a pumpkin with a point at the bottom. A member of the winter squash family, this squash is loaded with carotenes, which protect against cancer. You'll find plenty of vitamin C, vitamin B1, folic acid and dietary fiber as well. The following recipe uses apples to enhance the vegetable's natural sweetness.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 1 medium acorn squash
• 1 small apple
• Canola oil
• Salt
• 1 tablespoon of chopped walnuts
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• Cinnamon

1. Wash the acorn squash well. Cut off the stem and point. Carefully split it in half and remove the seeds and pulp with a spoon. Wash the squash well from the inside and set it aside.

2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash the apple and cut it into small squares. Steam them until slightly tender.

3. Grease a baking dish. Brush the acorn squash with canola oil on both sides. Place the squash on the baking dish with the green side facing up and put it in the oven.

4. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the apple squares, walnuts and cinnamon. Saute until warmed through.

5. Take the squash out of the oven after about 25 minutes. The orange rim of the squash should be golden brown when you turn it over.

6. Sprinkle the squash surface with salt. Fill the cavity with the apple mixture, packing in as much as you can.

7. Place the acorn squash back in the oven and bake for another 20 minutes. The top apples should look crispy and a knife should go through the squash easily.

Tips & Warnings

• Choose a sweet apple like Golden Delicious or Macintosh.
• Acorn squash can be a challenge to cut. Use a large, strong knife and cut halfway through on one end. Flip the squash and finish cutting from the other end.
• You can add some brown sugar to the apple mixture if you like your squash sweeter.
• Be careful when taking the squash out of the oven because it may spit oil.

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