Persian Stuffed Dumpling Squash with Rose Petals

Ingredients

• 0.5 cup cherries dried pitted coarsely chopped
• 1 cup rice cooked
• 0.3 cup apricots dried minced
• 0.3 cup barberries 
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 0.3 cup olive oil 
• 0.8 cup orange juice freshly squeezed
• 1 teaspoon saffron threads dissolved in 2 tablespoons hot water
• 6 servings salt and pepper black freshly ground
• 6  dumpling squash sweet (or substitute acorn squash, or use bell peppers instead)
• 1 cup walnuts finely chopped
• 1 large onion diced yellow

Equipment

• frying pan
• oven
• whisk
• baking pan

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
2. Neatly slice off the top of each squash and set it aside. Check the bottoms to see if they’re level. If not, slice off enough so that they will stand steadily. Scoop out the seeds and place the squash in an oiled baking dish. Rub them inside and out with olive oil until well coated, and season with salt and pepper.
3. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add 4 tablespoons of the olive oil, followed by the onion and sauté until lightly browned.
4. Add the garlic, rice, walnuts, barberries, cherries, apricots, and rose petals. Stir well and continue cooking for 5 minutes, adding a little water if the mixture is dry. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
5. Fill each squash with stuffing and replace the tops.
6. Whisk together the orange juice, saffron water, and the remaining oil and pour over the squash. Cover tightly with a dish lid and bake for 25 minutes, basting occasionally with the juice. Uncover, baste, and bake until the squash is golden and tender, about 5 minutes more.
7. To serve, transfer the squash to a platter and pour the liquid from the baking dish on top.
8. Garnish with rose petals.
9. Taste
10. Book, using the USDA Nutrition Database
11. Reprinted with permission from Lucid Food: Cooking for an Eco-Conscious Life by Louisa Shafia. Text copyright © 2010 by Louisa Shafia. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.Louisa Shafia is the founder of Lucid Food, an eco-friendly fine catering company based in New York City. A graduate of the Natural Gourmet Institute, she has worked at Millennium Restaurant and Roxanne's in the San Francisco Bay Area, and at Aquavit and Pure Food and Wine in New York.