Baked Acorn Squash With Quiche Filling

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Cut washed squash in half lengthwise and scoop out all seeds. On the rounded bottom, cut off a small amount so that the halves will sit flat and level, cut side up.

2. In a baking dish place squash, cut side down (so middle of squash is facing down), and fill dish with enough water to come up sides of squash 1/8″ to 1/4″. Loosely cover pan with tin foil and par-bake for 25 minutes.

3. Remove squash from oven and allow to cool 5 minutes and turn oven up to 400°F. After 5 minutes, carefully remove squash halves from dish, pour out almost all of the water (you’ll want just the tiniest thin layer left on the bottom), and place squash back into pan, this time, cut side facing up! Sprinkle half of the sea salt and half of the pepper on the meat of the squash, reserving the remaining half for your quiche filling. Set aside.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs and milk until thoroughly combined. Whisk in the remaining salt and pepper, as well as chives.

5. Place half of the diced tomatoes into one squash’s center and the remaining half into the other squash. Carefully pour egg mixture into the centers of each squash, filling up until it just comes to the top. Be careful, you’ll have to move the pan into oven, so you don’t want custard to spill over.

6. Cover dish loosely again with tin foil and bake for another 25-35 minutes. You’re looking for the eggs to have set (not jiggly) and the squash meat to be cooked through. About 5 minutes before squash is done, remove from oven, and sprinkle tops with Parmesan cheese. Then bake for the remaining 5 minutes uncovered.

Serve!

Note: Squash can be par-baked up to 2 days in advance! Just cool completely and then store in fridge in an airtight container until the day needed. Fill centers with the quiche filling the day of, and bake accordingly.