Sausage-Stuffed Roasted Butternut Squash
A hearty & colorful dish that highlights the bounty of the season!
4
Roasted Butternut Squash
2 butternut squash medium or large
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon salt or more
black pepper freshly ground
Sausage Filling
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion small, diced
1 lb Highland Farm Zesty Venison Italian Sausage, crumbled *Many of our sausages would work well in this recipe - choose your favorite!
4 cloves garlic minced
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
4 oz spinach fresh
4 oz of crumbled feta
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup pecans chopped
Roasting the Squash:
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Prepare the butternut squash. Slice each one in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and fleshy strands tangled with the seeds.
Place butternut squash cut sides up on a baking sheet. Drizzle the cut sides of the butternut squash halves with olive oil and rub the oil into the squash. Season generously with salt and pepper.
Turn the squash halves over, and place it cut sides down on a baking sheet.
Roast in the preheated oven at 400 F for 30 or 40 minutes.
Making the Filling:
Make the sausage filling while the squash is being roasted in the oven.
In a large skillet, heat olive oil, add diced onion, and cook it on medium-high heat for about 2 minutes until cooked and a bit charred.
Add crumbled venison sausage, minced garlic, and Italian seasoning and cook for about 5 minutes or more on medium heat until the sausage is completely cooked through.
Add fresh spinach and cook for another 5 minutes on medium heat until the spinach wilts.
Add dried cranberries and chopped pecans and mix everything.
Season with salt and pepper.
Assembling the Meal:
Remove the roasted squash from the oven and turn the cooked squash halves cut sides up.
Let it cool slightly. Using a spoon, scoop out the flesh leaving about a 1-inch border along the sides.
Reheat the sausage mixture in the same skillet in which you made it to warm it up. Stir in the crumbled feta.
Divide the sausage filling among the 4 halves and stuff the squash until the hole is filled and slightly mounded up.
Top with freshly ground black pepper and fresh thyme.