Recipe: Thanksgiving Stuffing Butternut Squash

Want to be a hero to all your vegetarian friends and family this holiday season? Stuff a squash with amazing buttery bread and herbs and roast and serve with thick vegetable-based gravy, and you’ll be the hottest vegetarian dinner host ever in the whole universe.

Yield: Serves 4, Time: 2 hours

Ingredients

For the “poultry” seasoning:

• ¼ cup ground sage
  
• 2 tablespoons dried thyme
  
• 2 tablespoons dried marjoram
  
• 2 tablespoons dried rosemary
  
• 1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
  
• 1 tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper
  

For the squash and stuffing:

• 2 pounds plus ⅓ cup unsalted butter
  
• 2 white onions, diced
  
• 6 ribs celery, sliced
  
• 1 cup coarsely grated butternut squash
  
• 1 cup ready-cooked chestnuts, roughly chopped and soaked in hot water for 20 minutes
  
• 6½ cups Court Bouillon
  
• 1 large sourdough loaf, crust removed, sliced, lightly toasted, and torn into 1½-inch pieces
  
• 1 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
  
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  
• 1 large butternut squash, cut in half lengthwise, seeded, and hollowed out
  

For the vegetable gravy:

• ½ cup unsalted butter
  
• ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
  
• 1 quart Celeriac Stock, reduced by half, infused with ½ cup (15 g) ground sage
  
• ⅓ cup “poultry” seasoning
  
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

Make the “poultry” seasoning: Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl.

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).

Make the stuffed squash: In a large saucepan, melt 2 pounds of the butter over medium high heat. Add the onions and celery, reduce heat to medium-low, and gently sweat for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are translucent. Add ⅓ cup of the “poultry” seasoning and toast until fragrant, about 4 minutes. Add the grated squash and chestnuts and stir until completely coated; cook for 10 minutes. Add 4 cups (900 ml) of the court bouillon, bring to a simmer, and mix in the sourdough pieces. The mixture should be slightly wet. Add the parsley and salt and remove from heat.

With one squash half, cut off about 2 inches from the bulbous end to create a vent. Stuff the other hollowed-out squash half with the stuffing; pack it in with the stuffing crowning out of the squash by about ¾ inch . Place the piece with the end cut off on top of the stuffed bottom and tie with butcher’s twine. (If you have no idea what I’m saying, see above for a picture of how the vent should look.) Once securely tied, make sure that the stuffing is packed evenly into the squash.

Now melt the remaining ⅓ cup butter into the remaining 2½ cups (600 ml) court bouillon for basting.

Place the whole squash onto a rack set in a baking sheet. Bake for about 1 hour, basting the squash with the court bouillon and butter mixture every 15 minutes, until the stuffing is golden brown and the whole squash is fork-tender.

Make the vegetable gravy: As the squash is cooking, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour, stir until the flour is fully incorporated into the butter, and cook until it starts to bubble and turn golden in color, about 2 minutes. Slowly pour in half the celeriac stock and blend with an immersion blender until thick. Add the rest of the celeriac stock, the “poultry” seasoning, and salt and cook for 10 minutes over medium-low heat. Blend again and check for seasoning. Keep warm until plating.

Slice the whole squash into 1-inch rounds and place on a serving platter; cover with vegetable gravy or serve gravy on the side.

Excerpted from Homestyle Cookery.