Nine times out of ten, if you hear Cacio e Pepe, there's usually some sort of pasta involved. Cacio e Pepe, which literally translates to "cheese and pepper" in multiple Italian dialects is a popular dish comprised of pasta, shaved parmesan cheese and fresh cracked black pepper, for the most part. Throughout the years, many recipes have been created with the "cheese and pepper" premise, without the pasta. For example, Cacio e Pepe hash browns, pizza, Brussels, and the list goes on. So, why not add the same famed cheese and pepper combination to some rice to stuff into some seasonal squash to celebrate Fall?
Cacio e Pepe stuffed squash ingredients
This easy, cheesy, crowd-pleasing recipe is the perfect marriage of Italian and fall influence. With minimal ingredients involved, this dish is also quite easy on the wallet, and every ingredient can be easily acquired with one stop at Rollin' Oats.
Kabocha squash, for those who aren't aware, is a seasonal winter squash that is available during a small window of time. If you can't find Kabocha squash, most any other winter squash, such as acorn or sugar pumpkin, will work just fine.
Cacio e Pepe Stuffed Kabocha Squash
While the chili crisp is optional, I highly suggest that you take the time to make it. Store it in a mason jar, pop it in the refrigerator and enjoy it for up to a month. We make this in our house often and use it to top salads, sandwiches, pizza, steak, chicken, and so on.
Cacio e Pepe Rice-Stuffed Kabocha Squash sliced with Chili Crisp
For this dish, wine expert Ken Smith recommends Tenuta di Renieri Chianti Classico 2016. He notes that it's an elegant offering, which presents aromas of crushed berries, violets and lavender. It possesses a medium body with soft tannins and a long finish.
Cacio e Pepe Rice-Stuffed Kabocha Squash
Ingredients
Stuffed Kabocha Squash
- 1 Kabocha Squash Medium in size
- 1 cup Cooked Basmati Rice Cook per package instructions
- 12 ounces Niman Ranch Fully-Cooked Spicy Italian Sausage Roughly chopped into small pieces
- 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese Plus more for serving. Save some time and pick up Sartori shredded at Rollin' Oats!
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp Salt Plus more to taste
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- Fresh Parsley Roughly chopped, optional
Chili Crisp (Optional)
- 3 Shallots Sliced thin
- 10 garlic cloves Peeled and minced
- 1 cup Vegetable Oil
- 2 Cinnamon Sticks
- 1 2" Piece of Gincer Peeled and minced
- 3 tbsp Crushed Red Pepper
- 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
Instructions
Stuffed Kabocha Squash
- Preheat oven to 375F. Cut the top off of the squash (much like you would when carving a pumpkin) and scoop out and discard all of the seeds.
- Rub inside of squash with olive oil garlic powder and salt. Roast in preheated oven for 40 minutes.
- Increase oven temperature to 400F. Spoon combined rice mixture into roasted squash and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven, slice squash into quarters and serve topped with chopped parsley, more parmesan cheese, and Chili Crisp, if desired.
Chili Crisp
- In a medium sauce pan, combine garlic, shallots, oil and cinnamon sticks. Simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes, until shallots and garlic are golden without taking on too much color. Remove from heat.
- While shallot mixture cooks, In a medium bowl, combine ginger, chili flakes, sugar and soy sauce. Strain oil of shallot mixture over ginger mixture through a fine mesh sieve and stir to combine. Set shallots and garlic in sieve aside to cool for a few minutes. Discard cinnamon sticks and stir shallots and garlic into chili oil mixture. Store in a mason jar and keep for up to one month.
Nutrition
