Squash: Roasted and Stuffed

It's squash season and different squashes that I've never heard of before keep arriving from the farm. One got delivered yesterday called a Turban Squash. It looks more like the little toadstool guy from Super Mario Brothers, but I bet it tastes delicious... I haven't cooked that one up yet, but I did recently stuff some Carnival Squash with a tomato and spinach concoction...

This is hearty enough to serve on it's own as a vegetarian meal or will make a lovely companion to a slab of tasty meat.

Roasted Tomato Stuffed Squash
--4 tomatoes, whole
--2 TBSP olive oil
--dried oregano
--1 carnival squash, sliced in half and seeds removed
--cooking spray
--garlic, minced
--1/2 small onion, diced
--1 dry cup fresh spinach leaves, washed and dried

Using a paring knife, cut out the core of the tomatoes but only down about 1/2". Make x's on the bottom of each tomato. Coat with 1 TBSP of the olive oil and dash with oregano. Roast in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until the skins are easy to remove.

In a separate baking dish, spray the squash halves with cooking spray and simultaneously roast cut side down.

Once the tomatoes are done, remove them from the oven. Flip the squash so that it is now cut side up and continue roasting until a fork slides easily into the thickest part of the squash.

Heat a medium skillet over medium-high and add the remaining 1 TBSP olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and saute to translucency, 2-ish minutes. While the garlic/onion mix cooks, remove the skins from the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes to the skillet and mash with a fork. Add the spinach and toss regularly so spinach gets warmed and wilted but not soggy. Remove pan from heat.

Remove the squash from the oven and place on a plate. Stuff each squash half with the tomato and spinach mixture and eat everything except the squash stem and skin.

Dammit Jim, I'm a cook, not a doctor...
Time: 1 hour
Serves: 2
Calories: 272 per serving