Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Squash with Black Trumpets and Faro

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Warm chicken stock and place in a heat safe container. Add dried black trumpet mushrooms and let steep for 30 min or so to rehydrate. 

3. Peel honey nut squash, leaving the stem intact. Slice in half and remove the seeds. Rub with neutral oil and season with salt. Place face up on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for 20 min or until the squash is soft enough to scoop out. Remove from the oven and let cool. When cooled, scoop out the inside of squash leaving 1/4 inch all around. You should end up with a little under 2 cups of squash innards reserved and set aside for later.

4. Strain the black trumpets, making sure to reserve the liquid. Strain the liquid to remove any debris from the foraged mushrooms and place in a medium saucepan on medium high heat. When the liquid is boiling, add the wild rice and the faro, cover the pot, and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 30 minutes on a low simmer until the faro is cooked and the wild rice is still a little hard. Strain the rice, making sure again to save the flavorful starchy liquid.

5. In a blender, add the scooped out squash innards, the liquid from the rice, and the nutritional yeast. Blend until fully incorporated and set aside in a small sauce pot and keep warm to add later.

6. Place diced bacon in a cold pan over medium heat. Let the fat render and the bacon get crispy. When most of the fat is gone, remove the bacon.  Add a tablespoon of neutral oil to the bacon fat and toss in the onion and the black trumpet. Cook for 2 minutes before adding the bacon back in, along with the garlic and the herbs. Cook for a couple of minutes and then add the rice. Cook for another 2 or 3 minutes. Add the squash stock mixture 1 cup at a time, and stirring to incorporate. When all the liquid is in, add the parmesan and mix until combined. If the mixture is too dry, add up to one cup of water. Salt to taste and remove from heat.

7. Stuff the squash halves with the rice mixture, making sure the top is flush since you are going to put the halves back together. Save the leftover rice mixture to be warmed and served later with the squash.

8. Wrap the squash in bacon by layering the bacon one slice over the other until it is the same width as the honey nut squash. Place the two halves of the squash back together, then roll it in the bacon until it's fully covered. Repeat the process with the rest of the squash.

9. Place the stuffed and wrapped squash on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Roast in the 375 degree oven for 20 min, or until the bacon is crispy.

10. For the sage butter, add the unsalted butter to a pan on medium low heat. When butter is melted, add sage and bring heat up to medium. Let the sage cook until its color changes to a blackish green, and remove and place on a paper towel to drain. Remove the butter from heat. The sage should continue to cook in the butter after you remove it, so don’t worry if it's not super crispy immediately. 

11. On a large plate, place a bed of the warmed leftover rice mixture. Slice each stuffed squash into about 6 rings, and lay atop the rice bed slightly offset from each other. Drizzle over sage butter and top with crispy leaves.