Stuffed Delicata Squash

We have a plethora of delicata squash sitting on our counter. It's delicious, but I wanted to try to make it into a main dish. I peeked around at what I had on hand, and this is what I came up with.



Ingredients:

2 delicata squash, halved and seeded
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch swiss chard
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup chicken stock (or veggie stock, or even water I'd imagine would be fine)
Panko breadcrumbs
1 Tablespoon butter, melted
Olive Oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place squash cut side down in oven-safe baking dish. Add approximately 1/2 inch of water. Bake for 15 minutes. Flip squash so they are cut side up, and bake until fork-tender (varies widely depending on the size of the squash...let's say 30 minutes). Check occasionally and add more water to the baking dish if too much of the water evaporates.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Cut the thick stems out of the chard leaves, and roughly chop the leaves. Set aside.

In a large skillet, saute the minced garlic in olive oil until lightly browned. Add the chopped swiss chard leaves. Toss until lightly wilted, about 2 minutes. Add the beans and chicken stock and cook for approx. 10 minutes until chard is tender, stirring occasionally.

Stuff the squash "boats" with the filling, then sprinkle panko breadcrumbs on top and drizzle with some melted butter. Return to the oven and bake until the breadcrumbs are lightly browned, about 5 minutes.

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My husband and I both really enjoyed the mixture of the sweet squash with the more savory filling. I would have preferred a larger squash-to-filling ratio, so I think I might try this again with a thicker-fleshed winter squash, like acorn squash.