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With all the different squashes in the farmer's market, it's a bit overwhelming. But fear not, just try them. It's fun. Carnival Squash is not one I'm familiar with but I dared to write a recipe for it anyway. (If it doesn't work-out, you'll never see this.)

For some reason, I'm very dissatisfied with the idea of just roasting or steaming all the different variety of squashes with some butter. We need more, MORE! (insert maniacal laugh here) So, here's my thought process: stuffed potatoes, yum, how about I stuff the Carnival Squash? Ok, totally not the same thing but go easy on me, I'm revealing my inner thoughts here. Yes, my inner thoughts are still only about food. Not much else goes on up there.

Chicken Stuffed Carnival Squash
~serves 2

• 1 carnival squash (about 1 pound 7 ounces)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 2 chicken legs, poached
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
  
• 1 cup chopped red onion
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• salt and pepper to taste
  

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (350 degrees F with convection) and wash the squash thoroughly.
2. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Place cut side down in a dish and fill with 1/2" of water. Bake for 30 minutes. While it's baking, hand shred the chicken. Set aside.


3. Remove from the oven and flip over. Put 1/2 tablespoon of butter in each squash half and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake for another 15 minutes. Set each squash half (open side up) on a plate.


4. Heat a small saute pan with olive oil. Add onions and garlic and stir around until softened. Add chicken, chili powder, and cumin. Season to taste. Divide in half and fill each squash half. Serve.



I love the presentation of this dish. The skin of the carnival squash in beautiful and makes a natural bowl. Lon likes how this dish looks like a cornucopia. The squash itself has an interesting texture, almost like spaghetti squash, but the strands are not as defined. It's very sweet and works wonderfully with chili chicken.

posted by Jessica@Foodmayhem at 8:23 PM 5 Comments add a comment