Stuffed Squash & Spicy Red Curry

Preheat the oven to 475°F. Cut off and discard the squash ends; carefully peel the squash, leaving alternating strips of skin intact. Halve the squash lengthwise; scoop out and discard the pulp and seeds. Place the squash on a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper; turn to thoroughly coat. Arrange cut sides down and roast, flipping halfway through, 28 to 30 minutes, or until browned and tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from the oven.

While the squash roasts, wash and dry the remaining fresh produce. Pick half the cilantro leaves off the stems; finely chop the remaining leaves and stems. Cut off and discard the scallion roots; thinly slice on an angle, separating the white bottoms and green tops. Remove and discard the collard green stems; thinly slice the leaves. Finely chop the peppers. Peel and mince the ginger. Roughly chop the peanuts. In a bowl, combine the coconut milk powder and 1½ cups of water; whisk until smooth.

While the squash continues to roast, in a small pot, combine the rice, a big pinch of salt and 1 cup of water; heat to boiling on high. Once boiling, cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook 14 to 16 minutes, or until the water has been absorbed and the rice is tender. Remove from heat and fluff the cooked rice with a fork. Stir in the chopped cilantro.

While the rice cooks, in a large pan (nonstick, if you have one), heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil on medium-high until hot. Add the white bottoms of the scallions and collard greens; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 3 to 5 minutes, or until the collard greens are slightly wilted. Add the peppers and ½ cup of water; cook, stirring occasionally, 3 to 4 minutes, or until the water has cooked off and the collard greens have wilted. Transfer to a bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Wipe out the pan.

In the same pan, combine the ginger and as much of the curry paste as you’d like, depending on how spicy you’d like the dish to be; season with salt and pepper. Cook on medium-high, stirring constantly, 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add the coconut milk powder mixture and honey. Cook, stirring occasionally, 6 to 8 minutes, or until combined and slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat.

Add the cooked collard greens and peanuts to the pot of cooked rice; stir to thoroughly combine and season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide the roasted squash, sauce and half the finished filling between 2 dishes. Fill the squash halves with the remaining finished filling. Garnish with the whole cilantro leaves and green tops of the scallions. Enjoy!