Butternut squash stuffed with minced meat: the recipe and timings

Butternut squash stuffed with minced meat works on one condition: pre-bake the squash for 30 minutes at 180 °C before filling it. Halved lengthways, then cleared of its seeds and some of its flesh, it goes back into the oven for 30 to 35 minutes with a minced meat filling at 15 or 20 % fat. Allow 1 hr 05 of cooking in total and 400 g of filling for two halves, which serves two to three people.

The same method works for red kuri squash, spaghetti squash and pumpkin: only the pre-baking time and the amount of filling change. Here are the temperatures, timings and proportions that prevent squash that is still firm under a filling that has already dried out.

Butternut squash stuffed with minced meat: cut, hollow out, fill

Preparing the squash takes five steps, before you even switch on the oven.

Choose a butternut squash weighing 1 to 1.2 kg, firm, with matt skin and no soft spots. Lay it flat and cut it in half lengthways with a large knife: cutting lengthways gives two even boats that are much easier to fill than a squash hollowed out from the top.

Remove the seeds and stringy fibres with a tablespoon, then scoop out the flesh to a depth of 2 cm, leaving a wall of about 1 cm. Thinner than 8 mm, the wall collapses during cooking; thicker than 1.5 cm, the flesh stays firm in the centre even after 35 minutes in the oven.

Do not throw away the scooped-out flesh: it weighs 150 to 250 g per squash and goes into the filling. Cut it into 1 cm cubes or give it a few seconds in the chopper for an even mince that cooks at the same rate as the meat. If you want a clean chop without turning the flesh into purée, a vegetable chopper takes care of this step in under a minute.

Then brush the inside of the boats with one tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper: this thin film of fat stops the flesh drying out during pre-baking.

Why pre-baking the squash is not optional

A raw squash needs 45 to 55 minutes at 180 °C to become tender right through. A minced meat filling, on the other hand, is cooked in 25 to 30 minutes. Put in the oven raw together, the two never meet: either the meat is done while the flesh is still crunchy, or the squash gives way once the filling has lost its juices. Pre-baking closes this gap by giving the vegetable a 30-minute head start.

Two methods work:

• In the oven: place the squash halves flesh side down on a tray lined with baking paper and allow 30 minutes at 180 °C. The steam stays trapped under the boat and the flesh steams in its own moisture.
• In the microwave: allow 8 minutes at 900 W, cut sides down in a covered dish with two tablespoons of water.

Either way, the tip of a knife should go through the wall without resistance. Pour off any liquid released and pat the inside dry with kitchen paper, otherwise the filling will be swimming. This head-start principle applies to most oven-baked minced meat dishes that combine a dense vegetable with a quick-cooking filling.

A minced meat filling at 15 or 20 % fat

For two butternut halves, allow 400 g of minced meat: beef, or two-thirds beef and one-third lamb. The fat content should be between 15 and 20 %: below 12 %, the filling dries out, because the squash adds no fat and actually absorbs the juices.

If you mince the meat yourself, combine beef chuck or shoulder clod with lamb shoulder, put through the 4.5 mm plate just once to keep some bite. A meat grinder lets you control this percentage to the gram, which no supermarket tray allows.

1. Sweat 1 chopped onion for 3 minutes in olive oil, then add 2 garlic cloves.
2. Add the meat and cook it for 6 to 8 minutes over a high heat.
3. Stir in the reserved squash flesh and cook for another 5 minutes, until its water has evaporated.
4. Season: 40 g of grated Parmesan, 1 teaspoon of cumin, 30 g of crushed hazelnuts, 8 g of salt per kilo of filling, pepper, then fresh sage or thyme.

This seasoning is not a detail: butternut squash contains 7 to 9 g of sugar per 100 g, and this natural sugar calls for a savoury counterpoint, otherwise the dish turns blandly sweet.

How do you stop the squash filling from being dry?

A dry filling is the most common flaw in stuffed squash.

Three adjustments are enough: keep the meat between 15 and 20 % fat, never go beyond 35 minutes of final cooking at 180 °C, and pour two tablespoons of stock over the filling before it goes in the oven. The squash adds no fat: it is the meat that has to keep the filling moist.

Stuffed red kuri squash, spaghetti squash and pumpkin: what changes

The technique stays the same, but the settings change:

• Red kuri squash: keep the skin on, as it is edible and acts as a natural mould. Its flesh, drier and denser, needs only 25 minutes of pre-baking and 300 g of filling, to which you add 2 tablespoons of stock to compensate.
• Spaghetti squash: 35 minutes of pre-baking, then scrape out the strands with a fork, mix half of them into the meat and put everything back into the boat.
• Pumpkin: more watery, it needs 40 minutes of pre-baking and thorough draining before filling.

Whatever the squash, the final cooking stays the same: 30 to 35 minutes at 180 °C, fan setting, uncovered. For a golden crust, add 30 g of breadcrumbs and 40 g of grated cheese, then give it 5 minutes at 200 °C at the end of cooking.

The same hollow-and-fill principle works in summer with courgettes stuffed with minced meat, with pre-cooking times divided by three since their flesh is much more tender.

Can you prepare a squash stuffed with minced meat in advance?

Stuffed squash lends itself well to being prepared the day before.

Pre-bake the squash and cook the filling the day before, fill the boats and keep them covered in cling film for 24 hours between 0 and 4 °C. Take them out 20 minutes before baking and add 5 minutes to the cooking time. Before the final cooking, the filled dish can be frozen for up to 2 months.