Acorn Squash with Apples & Leeks

This was an accompaniment to my Mexican dinner.  I owe almost all of the recipes to Marcela Valladolid.  I have seen her show a few times but when searching for recipes, I really like the variety of her recipes and they seemed reasonable on the difficulty scale.  One of my biggest objections to going out for Mexican food is that the menus offer the same dishes.  Finding ethnic restaurants with a spin is a welcome experience.  Have you found the same thing?

This side dish is a something different.  I really like the mixture of the ingredients and there texture.  I took out more than half the butter that was recommended and did not notice the difference.  This recipe is definitely one to do again and perfect for the vegetarians in the room.

Recipe (adapted from Marcela Valladolid):

Ingredients
3 acorn squash, halved crosswise and seeded
1 head garlic, wrapped in foil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
2 small leeks, diced (white and pale green parts only)
1 Gala apple, cored and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
Salt
1 teaspoon freshly dried thyme leaves
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut you squash in half to prepare for baking.

Place the squash, cut sides down, in a glass baking dish. Pour enough water into the baking dish to fill halfway up the sides and place in the oven.  The water will help steam the squash keeping it tender and moist.  At the same time, place the foil-wrapped garlic directly on an oven rack. Roast the garlic and squash until very tender, about 1 hour. Cool slightly.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a heavy, small skillet over medium-high heat. Add the leeks and apple and saute until crisp tender, about 6 – 8 minutes. Season with salt, to taste.

Scoop the cooled acorn squash flesh into a large bowl. Using a potato masher, mash the flesh until smooth. Pour in to your Cuisinart.  Take the garlic and squeeze the roasted garlic flesh into the squash puree.   Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and pulse. Stir in the thyme and season with salt, to taste. Pulse a few more times.

Place the mash in serving bowl and top with apple and leek saute.  Enjoy!