Stuffed Gem Squash

Roasted Stuffed Gem Squash filled with herby, tomato-ey bulgur wheat is a thing of beauty and deliciousness but you can also kick it up a notch with the addition of Italian sausage. 

Gem squash is a South African heirloom squash that has gained popularity in many other countries. In its native land, it is considered a summer squash but in the United States, it falls into the winter squash category. It’s a descendant of a Central American squash that made its way across the sea and is a must-have in South Africa. 

If you’d like to learn more about them and where to find gem squash, this post on Cook Sister is very informative: https://www.cooksister.com/2010/10/gem-squash-central-finding-them-growing-them-and-eating-them.html

Stuffed Gem Squash  - Two Ways

In the following recipe, we will make a base stuffing with onions, tomatoes, bulgur and herbs, which is delicious on its own for half the gem squash. The other half, we’ll fill with a mixture of the base stuffing with added Italian sausage. By adjusting your filling amounts, you can make all vegetarian, leaving out the sausage altogether or add another link or two of sausage to stuff all the gem squash with a meaty mixture. If you can't find gem squash, substitute small acorn squash which are of a similar size. 

 

Ingredients

4 gem (or acorn) squash 

For the stuffing:

1/4 cup or 60ml olive oil, plus more for sautéing the onion and drizzling on the squash before roasting

1 large or 2 medium onions, minced (Mine weighed 7 oz or almost 200g)

1 cup or 210g medium coarse bulgur wheat

1.1 lbs or 500g tomato passata aka tomato puree

1 teaspoon fine sea salt or to taste

1 vegetable stock cube 

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Small bunch fresh parsley

Large bunch fresh cilantro

4 spicy Italian sausages – approx. weight 11 1/3 oz or 320g

Method

Sauté the onion in a drizzle of olive oil until softened and translucent. Tip in the bulgur wheat and give the whole thing a good stir so the bulgur is coated with the oil and onions. 

Add in the tomato passata or puree, the stock cube and the black pepper. 

Add 1 cup or 240ml water and the crushed red pepper to the mixture and, over a medium heat, bring it up to a slow simmer. 

Put a lid on the pan and leave to simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until the bulgur wheat is al dente.  Test it occasionally, as you don’t want it to overcook and turn to mush. 

While the stuffing simmers, remove the sausage from its skin and pan-fry it in a skillet, breaking it apart into crumbles. You want it well-browned and crispy in places. Remove from the heat and drain. 

When the bulgur wheat is done, stir in the 1/4 cup or 60ml olive oil and taste for salt. Add salt as needed. I rarely do as the stock cubes has enough salt for us.  

Mince the stems of your parsley and cilantro and chop the leaves. Add both to the stuffing and stir well.  

Cut the gem squash in halves and scoop the seeds out. 

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C. (Or at this point, the filled squash can be kept in the refrigerator until you are ready to roast them.)

Put the gem squash in a tight fitting pan. Fill four of the gem squash halves with the bulgur wheat stuffing.

 

Mix the balance of the stuffing with the browned Italian sausage crumbles. 

Fill the other four squash halves with the mixture. 

Drizzle on a little olive oil and roast the stuffed squash in your preheated oven for about one hour or until the squash are softened enough for your liking. Check part way through and cover the tops with foil if they are browning too much.

Depending on how old your gem squash are, you might be able to eat the skin. If not, serve each with a spoon so your diners can scoop the flesh out with bites of the stuffing. Delicious! 

Enjoy!

It’s Sunday FunDay and today, as I’m sure you can guess from the list below, we are all sharing winter squash recipes. Many thanks to our host, Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm. 

• Acorn Squash and Apple Soup  from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Butternut Squash Latkes from Palatable Pastime
• Kar Assaly - Egyptian Pumpkin Pie from Pandemonium Noshery
• Red Pumpkin Chutney/Poonsanikai Chutney from Sneha's Recipe
• Stuffed Gem Squash from Food Lust People Love
• Winter Squash, Ginger, & Chicken Stir Fry from Amy’s Cooking Adventures

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Baked Shrimp-Stuffed Sole Fillets

Baked Shrimp-Stuffed Sole Fillets take a rather bland fish to fabulous by stuffing it with shrimp, cream cheese, garlic and jalapeño, then baking it with a crunchy garlicky panko topping. 

Flounder aka lemon sole is one of our favorite fish to pan-fry or bake whole but here in the States whole fish on the bone doesn’t seem as common. We have to make do with fillets.

My local grocery store sells fillets of sole in groups of two or three, rolled together and displayed like little coils side by side in the seafood section. Like you might roll socks but then not fold the top over. That gave me an idea. Why not make some sort of stuffing to put inside and roll them up again? A simple Google search revealed that, once again, the world had beat me to it. No matter. It was a good idea and we enjoyed the dish thoroughly.

Baked Shrimp Stuffed Sole Fillets

This recipe is adapted from one on Epicurious. The original calls for 4-6 fillets yet says it serves only four. We found with side dishes, one sole roll each was plenty. This is a rich dish!

Ingredients

8 sole fillets  (approx. total weight = 1.28lb or 580g)

For the stuffing:

5.28 oz or 150g fresh shrimp - weight after peeled, deveined

1/2 cup or 120g cream cheese, softened

1 clove garlic

1 fresh jalapeño

1 generous cup or 35g cubed baguette

1/4 cup or 60ml milk

Fine sea salt 

Freshly ground black pepper

Bread crumb topping:

1 cup or 75g plain panko bread crumbs

1 garlic clove, smashed then minced 

2 sprigs fresh parsley leaves, minced

2 sprigs fresh thyme leaves, minced

1-2 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for drizzling the topping

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your baking pan by brushing the inside with a little olive oil.

 

Pour the milk over the bread cubes and push them down a bit so they are covered and they can soak it all up. Cut the shrimp into three or four pieces each. Crushed then mince the clove of garlic. Slice off the stem and mince the jalapeño.

In a large mixing bowl, mash the cream cheese with a fork. Add in the soaked bread and stir well. 

Add in the shrimp, garlic and jalapeño. Stir well to combine. 

Put 1/8 of the filling on the narrower end of each sole fillet. 

Roll up and place in the oiled baking pan. 

Continue the process until all stuffed sole rolls are in the pan. Sprinkle with a little fine sea salt and black pepper. 

To make the topping, combine all the ingredients except the olive oil with fork. This helps the herbs and garlic mix in more evenly dry.

Add olive oil. Mix again with a fork to distribute the oil evenly. Top the sole rolls with panko mix. Drizzle with a little more olive oil.

Bake in your preheated oven for 20 minutes. Brown a little more on the top with the broiler, if desired.

Remove from the oven and serve immediately. I highly recommend serving this with your favorite steamed vegetables or maybe some boiled baby new potatoes with mint and a lightly dressed green salad. 

Enjoy!

T.G.I.F. and yay for Fish Friday Foodies! Today we are sharing fish and seafood baked or roasted in the oven. Check out the great recipes below. Many thanks to our organizer and host, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. 

• Sneha’s Recipe: Air Fryer Whole Mackerel Fish Roast 
• Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Crispy Salmon Bellies
• Food Lust People Love: Baked Shrimp-Stuffed Sole Fillets
• Palatable Pastime: Honey Pistachio Crusted Salmon 
• Goats and Greens: Roasted Almond-Breaded Tapenade-Stuffed Trout with Mushroom Sauce. 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Roasted Chilean Sea Bass One Skillet Dinner 
• Karen's Kitchen Stories : Slow Roasted Salmon with Garlic Butter and Herbs

                                      

                                               

Would you like to join Fish Friday Foodies? We post and share new seafood/fish recipes on the third Friday of the month. To join our group please email Wendy at wendyklik1517 (at) gmail.com. Visit our Facebook page and Pinterest page for more wonderful fish and seafood recipe ideas.

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Turkey Zucchini Feta Meatballs

These Turkey Zucchini Feta Meatballs are delicious just as they are, baked till golden, as an appetizer or add them to a sauce to serve with pasta. It's kind of magical how the zucchini seems to disappear as they bake so objectors likely won't even notice it. 

I know that summer is the time when zucchini is meant to grow in abundance and people complain when neighbors leave baskets of it on their porches. Or supposedly that happens. It has never actually happened to me! 

But I got a bit of a giggle out of the sign at my nearby Sprouts Farmers Market that declared the produce I know as zucchini was Italian squash. Is this like rebranding prunes to dried plums? I have to admit, Italian squash sounds just a bit nicer and certainly more sophisticated than zucchini. (Or we could go all British and call them courgettes.) 

The results of multiple web searches seem to agree they are the same vegetable. Let’s take a poll in the comments. Do you call them zucchini or Italian squash? Or courgettes?

Turkey Zucchini Feta Meatballs 

This recipe is adapted from one in the New York Times Cooking section.  If you don’t have ground turkey, substitute chicken or pork. 

Ingredients

2 medium Italian squash or zucchini (approx. weight 11 oz or 312g)

1/2 large shallot

1/2 cup or 40g panko bread crumbs

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 oz or 57g feta, crumbled

1 lb or 450g ground turkey

1 large egg

Olive oil

Method

Preheat your oven to 425°F or 218°C and line a baking pan with baking parchment or a silicone liner. 

Cut the stem ends off of the zucchini and discard. Line a plate or cutting board with two paper towels and grate the zucchini onto the paper towels with the large holes of your grater. 

Push the zucchini around till it covers the paper towels completely to allow as much moisture as possible to be absorbed. Roll the zucchini up in the paper towels and set aside. 

Add the panko, cumin, red-pepper flakes, salt and feta to a large mixing bowl. Peel then grate the shallot and add it in as well.

Gently use the tines of a fork to toss until combined. Tip in the grated zucchini and mix again. 

Add the turkey and stir gently until combined. 

Pop the egg in the middle and break it up with the tines of your fork. Now mix it in with the fork until thoroughly combined. 

Use a spoon or small cookie dough scoop to divide the mixture into about 32 pieces, around 2 tablespoons each. Use wet hands to form them into round meatballs and place them on the prepared baking sheet. I use a two-tablespoon scoop which makes short work of this part of the job.

Rolled smooth at the top and right, merely scooped for the rest of them

Drizzle the meatballs with olive oil and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through. 

For more browned meatballs, broil (grill) for a few minutes at the end, if desired. It's not necessary for cookedness (I wasn't sure that was a word but spellcheck is on board!) but they do look nicer, especially as we are using turkey, a lighter colored meat. 

Enjoy! 

It’s time for my Baking Bloggers to share recipes again! This month’s theme is ground meats aka mince to the Brits among us. Many thanks to our host and organizer, Sue of Palatable Pastime. Check out all the recipe links below. 

• Baked Chicken Fingers by Sneha’s Recipe
• Baked Mozzarella-Stuffed Meatballs by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Bierocks (German Beef & Cabbage Stuffed Rolls) by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Hawawshi (Egyptian Meat Stuffed Bread) by Tara’s Multicultural Table
• Pierogi Shepherd’s Pie by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Tater Tot Cottage Pie (Shepherd’s Pie) by Palatable Pastime
• Turkey Zucchini Feta Meatballs by Food Lust People Love

Baking Bloggers is a friendly group of food bloggers who vote on a shared theme and then post recipes to fit that theme one the second Monday of each month. If you are a food blogger interested in joining in, inquire at our Baking Bloggers Facebook group. We'd be honored if you would join us in our baking adventures.

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Spiced Chickpea Flour Gnocchi with Coconut Spinach Sauce

These spiced chickpea flour gnocchi are deliciously savory bites, tender on the inside and golden on the outside, served on a divine coconut spinach sauce so good you will want to lick the plate not to miss a single drop. 

When I first saw the delicious. magazine recipe from which mine is adapted, I questioned calling these little squares gnocchi because they were unlike any gnocchi I’d ever seen before. Gnocchi dough is rolled into a long sausage then cut in bits and boiled, right? If you are French, you might cook it à la poêle, in a pan browned in butter, but it's still little ovals of potato pasta.

But just a couple of weeks later, I was researching Roman recipes for another blogger event and I came across many for gnocchi that reminded me of my crispy polenta. Case in point, Serious Eats' Gnocchi alla Romana. It is indeed very similar in method to this chickpea flour version, aside from the shape. 

So I guess the potato gnocchi I’ve been making all these years is Italian, not Roman, but my crispy polenta is! Who knew?

Anyhoo, name aside, you are going to want to make these guys. We absolutely loved them and the spiced coconut spinach sauce as well. I'm not kidding when I say you'll want to lick the plate. It looks like a lot of ingredients and many steps but they are all super easy. Give this a try! You will not regret it. 

Spiced Chickpea Flour Gnocchi with Spinach Coconut Sauce

Here in the States, bags of spinach generally come measured in ounces and/or pounds. If you live elsewhere and can get a one kilo bag, go ahead and use the whole thing. This recipe is adapted from one in delicious. magazine, the UK edition, from the talented Chef Vivek Singh of The Cinnamon Club in London.

Ingredients

For the gnocchi:

3 cups or 735g Greek yogurt (sub a non-dairy yogurt to make this vegan friendly)

1 3/4 cups or 210g chickpea (gram) flour plus extra for dusting

1 1/2 cups + 4 teaspoons or 375ml water

1 piece (about 1 in or 2.5cm) fresh ginger

4 small hot red chili peppers

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/2 teaspoon asafetida (if you can't find this, skip it. I'm addicted to the aroma of asafetida but I can't say I notice much of a flavor difference when it's added to a recipe)

1/2 teaspoon nigella seeds aka kalongi 

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Plus canola or other light oil for pan frying

For the coconut spinach sauce:

28 oz or 794g young leaf spinach

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon gram flour

1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

4 hot red chili peppers, minced

3/4 cup or 180ml coconut cream (not milk - we want the thick stuff for extra flavor!)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

For the tempering:

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

2 whole dried red chili peppers, broken into small pieces

2-3 sprigs fresh curry leaves

Method

Line a 9x9 in or x 23x23cm pan with baking parchment. 

Peel the ginger and cut the stems off of the chili peppers. Chop the ginger roughly. Use a small food processor to mince both finely. Alternatively, you can use a pestle and mortar to grind them into a paste. 

Use a little of the water measure to rinse the processor or mortar to make sure you don’t leave any ginger/pepper behind. 

Mix all the gnocchi ingredients together in a pan and whisk to combine.

Cook gently for 12-15 minutes until thickened and shiny, whisking, then stirring as it thickens, all the while.

Transfer to the prepared pan and spread it out evenly to cool. Cover well with cling film and chill for up to 24 hours. 

When you are ready to complete the dish, put a 1/4 cup or 60ml water in your largest pot that has a lid. Bring it to the boil then add the spinach. Pop the lid on. If you don't have a pot this large, put as much as you can in, then add handfuls as the spinach shrinks and makes room until it's all been added.

Cook for 1-2 minutes or until wilted. Tip it into a bowl with ice water. 

Drain in a colander. Put a bowl under the colander when most of the water has drained and push down on the spinach so even more water drains and collects in the bowl. 

Purée the spinach in a food processor, adding a little of the spinach water, if necessary to get it moving. Set aside. (yield: 2 3/4 cups spinach purée)

Heat the oil for the coconut spinach sauce in a medium sized pot over a medium heat. Add the cumin seeds, then the garlic and stir until the garlic is golden. Add the chickpea flour and stir until it gives off a roasted aroma about 1-2 minutes. 

Add the spinach puree to the pan and bring to a slow boil, stirring often. Turn down the heat, add the ginger and chili peppers.

Simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk, add the salt and sugar then sprinkle in the garam masala. Keep warm. 

For the tempering, strip the curry leaves off of the stems then heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. When hot, add the red chili peppers, mustard seeds and curry leaves. 

Once the spices crackle, stir till dry and remove from the heat. 

Cut the cooled gnocchi into 36 squares. Lightly dust the gnocchi with a little more gram flour. I find using a small sieve for this most helpful. 

Drizzle a little oil into a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat then fry the gnocchi in batches, turning them until they are browned on all sides. 

Remove them to a pan in a warm oven, with a wire rack and paper towels to absorb any oil as you finish each batch. Keep warm. 

Divide the coconut spinach sauce between plates then top with the golden gnocchi and sprinkle with the tempered spice mix to serve.

Enjoy!

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes made with chickpea flour, also known as gram flour or besan. It’s commonly used in many Asian cuisines, predominantly in the subcontinent, for savory dishes and baking. According to Wikipedia, it contains a high proportion of carbohydrates as well as higher fiber and protein relative to other flours. It is naturally gluten free, making it a healthy choice for many. Check out all the recipe links below! Many thanks to our host, Renu of Cook with Renu for hosting today and for this wonderful theme.

• Airfryer Banana Crisps by Sizzling Tastebuds
• Onion Pakoda/Bhajiyas by Sneha’s Recipe
• Spiced Chickpea Flour Gnocchi with Coconut Spinach Sauce by Food Lust People Love
• Tawa Bread Pakora by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Vegan Chickpea Tomato Omelette by Cook with Renu
• Zucchini Fritters by A Day in the Life on the Farm

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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 with Coconut Spinach Sauce!

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Spicy Beer Shrimp Potatoes

Spicy Beer Shrimp Potatoes are flavorful main course, made with golden baby potatoes, garlic, tomatoes, Old Bay Seasoning and, of course, shrimp and beer!

Today, August 8th, is International Beer Day so I’m celebrating along with my Sunday FunDay friends. Our host, Rebekah encouraged us thusly: "Share your favorite recipes cooking or baking with beer - or if you don't like beer, cook or bake with your preferred alcohol!" I love the flexibility!

I have made MANY sweet and savory recipes using beer, like my Beer Cheddar Fondue, Spicy Cashew and Feta Beer Muffins, London Porter Cake, Oatmeal Stout Loaf and Beef and Guinness Pie, to name just a few. In short, we are fans of beer for both recipes and drinking.

One day I'll tell you about our youthful excursions down the Guadalupe River on innertubes when the rallying cry over the rapids was "At all costs, save the beer!" It was not uncommon to see a person completely underwater with a single arm visible, beer can held aloft. And we all survived. 

I’d already taken some shrimp out of the freezer to thaw for dinner so that was my jumping off point. Searching both "beer" and "shrimp" I found a ton of recipes online for beer shrimp, typically an appetizer, and thought, I can work with that! 

Spicy Beer Shrimp Potatoes

The addition of potatoes, parboiled then pan-fried till golden, turns what might have been an appetizer into a main course. My recipe is adapted from one on Rasa Malaysia. I served this with a tossed green salad and I recommend you do the same. Extra points if you also make my passion fruit vinaigrette or Amy's beer vinaigrette in the link list below to dress it with.

Ingredients

1 lb or 450g baby new potatoes

1 lb or 450g peeled and deveined shrimp

2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 Roma tomatoes

1 cup or 240ml beer of your choice. I used Corona. (Because: International Beer Day!)

Optional for garnish:

Chopped green onions (or sub parsley - I just like the flavor the green onions add)

another light sprinkle of Old Bay Seasoning

Method

Parboil the potatoes in salted water until a pointy knife can poke into them easily but they still have a hard center, about five minutes from when they come to a boil. 

Rinse the shrimp with cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels and season with Old Bay. Set aside.

While the potatoes parboil, use a sharp knife to score the tops of your tomatoes in a cross. Put them in a heatproof bowl. 

Drain the hot potato water into the tomato bowl and set aside for a few minutes.  Tip the water out and slip the peel off of the tomatoes. Cut the tomatoes in half and remove the cores and seeds. Dice the tomatoes. 

On a cutting board, use a wide knife or your flat palm to mash the potatoes down, one at a time. My photo is of the knife, which I did use for the first ones seen here, but I actually had more success just using my hand. 

Heat up a non-stick pan on high heat and add the olive oil. Add the potatoes a few at time and cook till golden on both sides. Turn them carefully so they don't break apart but if a piece gets loose, no worries. 

Remove them from the pan and set aside until all the potatoes are browned on both sides and on a plate.

Add a drizzle more olive oil, if needed, and sauté the garlic in the pan until aromatic but not browned then add in the chopped tomatoes. 

Cook for a few minutes until the diced tomatoes start to slump. 

Add the seasoned shrimp. 

Stir to combine well. As soon as the shrimp turn a bit pink, add the beer.

Bring the beer to a quick boil.

When the shrimp are cooked through, add the browned potatoes back in. Tuck them amongst the shrimp. 

Tilt the pan slightly and spoon the shrimp and sauce over them. 

Cook a little longer to rewarm the potatoes. When the potatoes are warmed through, turn off the heat and add the chopped green onions and a sprinkle on a little more of Old Bay Seasoning. (Don't overdo the Old Bay. It's super salty.)

Enjoy!

As I mentioned, it’s Sunday FunDay AND International Beer Day. What a time to be alive! Check out the delicious recipes made with beer below. Many thanks to our host, Rebekah of Making Miracles. Pop open a cold one and join us!

• Autumnal Spinach Salad with Beer Vinaigrette by Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Braised Pork with Dunkel Bier Gravy by Palatable Pastime
• Dum Chicken Rum Biryani by Sneha's Recipe
• Irish Beef Guinness Stew by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Slow Cooker Beer-Braised Pot Roast by Making Miracles
• Spicy Beer Shrimp Potatoes by Food Lust People Love
• Whole Wheat Beer Pretzel Nuggets by A Day in the Life on the Farm

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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