4cupkabocha squash, (or buttercup, hubbard or butternut)
drizzle olive oil
pinchsea salt
Instructions
Prep the squash for the oven, by cutting in half and scooping out the seeds. You can either roast as halves (takes longer) or cut into wedges (takes a bit less time). With your hands, rub a small amount of oil and salt onto the surface of each piece of squash.
Pierce each piece several times witha fork. Put them on a baking tray and put in the oven at about 350-375 F for about 30-45 min.
Once that’s in the oven, start on the pilaf. Put the spices in a small pot on medium-low heat to toast (dry) until fragrant, then add the quinoa to toast a few minutes.
Add the wine, onion and ginger and saute a few minutes.
Add the water, bring to a boil, then turn down to simmer and cover with a lid. Leave this to cook 15 minutes or so, stirred fairly often to keep it from sticking to the bottom.
Once the teff is cooked (soft and has absorbed all the water), add the vegetables and fruit and stir to combine. Let this cook a few minutes, or even just let it sit in the pot with the lid on after you turn off the heat and it will soften up quite a bit.
Serve the pilaf as is, scooped into the squash halves/wedges, or bake it inside the squash for 20 minutes or so.
Notes
* You could use the cranberry-thyme stuffing recipe in the sides section of the holiday guide instead of the teff stuffing if you prefer.