Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 1/2 cup / 3.25 ounces / 92 g fagiolina del Trasimeno (either white or rainbow variety)
• 1 1/2 cups / 350 ml water
• 1/2 small onion, halved
• 1/2 garlic clove
• A small bay leaf
• A handful of parsley stems
• A 1-inch / 2.5 cm piece of kombu (optional)
• 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 8 ounces / 225 g leek, white and light green portion, clean weight (set aside the dark green portion to make broth or stock)
• 2 tablespoon / 30 ml extra-virgin olive oil
• Leaves of a handful of fresh thyme sprigs
• Fine sea salt, to taste
• A pinch of freshly ground black pepper
• 2 medium delicata squash: I used the Candystick Dessert variety
• 2 ounces / 56 g fresh chèvre

Instructions

Note

There are four parts to the recipe. The first three can all be made ahead of time. The fagiolina and leek mix is enough to stuff 4 squash halves and serve 4 people.

Cook the fagiolina

Rinse the fagiolina. Add fagiolina and all the aromatics (ingredients #3 through 8) to the water. Stir, cover and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and let the fagiolina cook, covered, until it is tender. Let the fagiolina cool in the broth, then remove the aromatics and discard them.

Cook the leeks

Cut the leek(s) in half lengthwise and slice into 1/8 inch / 3 mm half-moons. Rinse well in a colander, then place in a bowl and fill it with cold water. With your hands, swirl the leeks to clean them well, then scoop them out of the water with a sieve or slotted spoon and drain them in a colander.

Warm up a cast-iron skillet, then add the oil. Add the leeks, stir well and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the thyme leaves and stir well and cook for a couple of minutes. Cover the skillet and cook on gentle heat until the leeks are soft, stirring every now and then. (The time it takes depends on how fresh the leeks are.) Sprinkle a pinch of salt and the black pepper and stir.

Add the fagiolina to the leeks and stir well. There should be 2 tablespoons / 30 ml of its cooking broth in it (drain the excess if needed). Cook for a couple of minutes, then take off the heat. Adjust the salt as needed.

Roast the squash

Preheat the oven to 375 F / 190 C. Cut a thin slice of squash to remove the stem, then cut the squash in half lengthwise. Remove seeds and strings (a grapefruit spoon is my favorite tool to do this).

Place the squash, cut side down, on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat. Bake the squash 35-40 minutes, or until soft (easily pierced with a pointed blade).

Finish the dish

Preheat the oven to 375 F / 190 C. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.

Crumble the cheese, divide it into 4 equal parts and distribute into the cavity of each squash half.

Divide the stuffing into 4 equal parts and pile it into the cavity of each squash half, pressing down with a spoon to make it stable. Bake the squash 12-14 minutes, until hot throughout. Take the baking sheet out of the oven and serve the squash immediately.

One of the nice characteristics of delicata squash is that, if not stored for long, the skin is edible. To eat the squash half, I slice it crosswise, then cut each slice in half.

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