Stuffed Ronde de Nice Squash

Here’s another veggie I had never purchased, cooked, nor eaten before. This summer I am consistently working with something new to me, thanks to my “CSA challenge” with Ollin Farms.

Ollin Farms sends out a weekly newsletter to let us know which crops to expect as well as provide some extra info on some crops we might not all know so well. Their newsletter said that Ronde de Nice Squash is a French heirloom variety, perfect for stuffing.

Perfect. Stuffed it would be.

This dish was rather easy. First, preheat the oven to 375.

Cut off the tops to 4 Ronde de Nice Squash and scoop out the inside with a grapefruit spoon, my secret little weapon in the kitchen. Leave most of the squash in the skin, but scoop out the inside flesh and set aside for later. Place the squash, hollow side up, in a Pyrex baking dish that has been drizzled with olive oil.

For the stuffing-

Toss 2 cloves of peeled garlic , 1/2 of an onion, 1/2 green pepper, and 1 sliced tomato (I used Roma), in a little olive oil and sea salt. Grill these for a few minutes to give them a nice flavor. Next, grill the squash flesh that has been scooped out for about 5 minutes or so to cook off the excess water. Then, throw about a salad plate’s worth of sliced focaccia bread on the grill and let both sides turn a beautiful dark brown.

When the grilled veggies are cool to touch, coarsely chop everything and mix it in a bowl with 1/2 cup ricotta cheese. Then, crumble the focaccia into the mixture and mix well. Add some sea salt and pepper and you’re ready to stuff.

Spoon the mixture into the Ronde de Nice Squash, re-place the top, and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes or until they’re talking to you (my way of saying “sizzling hot”).

I served these with some Grilled Roma Tomato Sauce, grilled Japanese eggplant, and grilled bread. Can you tell that I like grilled foods?