If you want a quick and easy dinner, it’s hard to get better than a stir-fry and some roasted vegetables. But if you add just one more step to combine the two, you can get something that looks really put-together and impressive even though it’s barely any more work.
That’s what this recipe basically is: take a very basic stir-fry with sausage and vegetables and then put it inside some roasted squash to mix the flavors and automatically up the presentation value.
You have a lot of room here to play around with the precise ingredients – pick your favorite type of sausage, and use whatever apples you can get in season and fresh. If you have access to a U-pick orchard, this would be one way to start using the harvest (or an excuse to go out and play around picking apples).
With this recipe, you don’t really need a side dish since there are already plenty of vegetables in the stuffing and in the squash itself.
It would be a great recipe to try out now and then hang onto for Thanksgiving, or just stick it in your rotation for the days that call for something seasonal that won’t be a huge challenge to cook.
Sausage and Apple-Stuffed Squash Recipe
SERVES: 4 PREP: 20 min COOK: 1 h
Ingredients
- 1 lb. sausages, casings removed;
- 2 apples, cored and chopped;
- 1 onion, finely chopped;
- 1 celery stalk, finely chopped;
- 4 oz. mushrooms, chopped;
- 1 egg, beaten;
- 2 acorn squash, halved and seeded;
- 2 cloves garlic, minced;
- ½ tsp. ground sage;
- ½ tsp. ground cinnamon;
- 2 tbsp. olive oil;
- Cooking fat;
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper;
Preparation
- Preheat your oven to 400 F.
- Brush the inside of the acorn squash with olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Place the squash on a baking sheet, cut side up, and roast for 30 minutes, until the flesh is fork-tender.
- Melt some cooking fat in a skillet placed over medium-high heat.
- Cook the sausage until browned and set aside.
- Add the onions, celery, garlic, and mushrooms to the skillet, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add the apples and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle the mixture with cinnamon and sage, and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Combine the meat, the apple mixture, and the beaten egg, and mix well.
- Divide the stuffing evenly among the squash halves.
- Place the squash back in the oven for another 15 minutes.
📖 Recipe
Sausage and Apple-Stuffed Squash Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb. sausages casings removed
- 2 apples cored and chopped
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 celery stalk finely chopped
- 4 oz. mushrooms chopped
- 1 egg beaten
- 2 acorn squash halved and seeded
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ tsp. ground sage
- ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- Cooking fat
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 F.
- Brush the inside of the acorn squash with olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper.2 acorn squash, 2 tbsp. olive oil, Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Place the squash on a baking sheet, cut side up, and roast for 30 minutes, until the flesh is fork-tender.
- Melt some cooking fat in a skillet placed over medium-high heat.Cooking fat
- Cook the sausage until browned and set aside.
- Add the onions, celery, garlic, and mushrooms to the skillet, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes.1 onion, 1 celery stalk, 2 cloves garlic, 4 oz. mushrooms
- Add the apples and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle the mixture with cinnamon and sage, and cook for another 2 minutes.2 apples, ½ tsp. ground sage, ½ tsp. ground cinnamon, Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, 1 lb. sausages
- Combine the meat, the apple mixture, and the beaten egg, and mix well.1 egg
- Divide the stuffing evenly among the squash halves.
- Place the squash back in the oven for another 15 minutes.
Leave a Reply