Stuffed Acorn Squash With Mushrooms And Chickpeas

Prep the squash

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Place the acorn squash on a cutting board and using a long sharp knife carefully cut it in half from stem to base. Using a spoon scoop out all seed-filled inside and stringy parts.

Bake the acorn squash

1. Place the acorns squash halves on a parchment lined baking sheet cut side up. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. (Optional - for a bolder flavor - brush each squash half with ½ tablespoon of Maple syrup)
2. Roast the squash for 35 minutes or until it is fork-tender. Remove squash from the oven and reduce the temperature to 375 F.

Prepare the rice

1. Rinse Basmati rice 3-5 times or until the water runs clean. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring vegetable broth to a boil. Add rice, 1 tablespoon avocado oil, and ¼ teaspoon salt.
2. Lower the heat and simmer covered for 10 minutes. Remove rice from heat and let sit, covered for 5 minutes.

Make the Tahini-lemon drizzle

1. In a medium bowl combine Tahini, lemon juice, water and ¼ teaspoon salt. Give it a whisk until the sauce looks creamy and set aside. If the sauce is too thick, add more water.

Sauté the mushrooms

1. Heat avocado oil in a medium skillet and over medium high heat. Add onion and sauté stirring until it's translucent, about 7 minutes. Stir in mushrooms and cook until all liquid evaporates and mushroom start to brown, about 5-7 minutes. Add garlic and stir for 1 minute.

Add the rest of the ingredients

1. To the skillet with the mushrooms, stir in chopped apple, fresh thyme, sage, the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook for 5 minutes until the apple starts to soften. Remove skillet from the heat.

Combine the ingredients

1. Add rice, sautéed vegetables, rinsed chickpeas, dried cranberries and walnuts to a large bowl.

Mix well

1. Using a spoon mix everything well until all ingredients are combined. Taste the stuffing to see if it needs more salt or pepper.

Fill the squash with the stuffing and bake

1. Fill the cavities in the roasted acorn squash with the rice, mushrooms and chickpeas mixture. Return the pan back to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove vegan stuffed acorn squash from the oven and serve with a drizzling of Tahini-lemon sauce.