JUDI’S RECIPES – WEEK 21 – OCTOBER 23, 2018

OCTOBER 23, 2018

Greetings All,

Have we skipped fall and gone straight to winter? The cooler weather is an inspiration. It is motivating us to cook and eat heartier, more harvest-y food.

This week’s recipe is for baked acorn squash, elevated to comfort food status by the addition of kale and sausage. Don’t know about you, but I’m getting a little bored with the butter and brown sugar thing.

BAKED ACORN SQUASH WITH KALE AND SAUSAGE STUFFING

Ingredients

2 medium acorn squash, halved width-wise and seeded

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

Olive oil cooking spray for the pan

3 tsp olive oil, divided

8 oz hot Italian turkey sausage, removed from casings

1 large leek, white and light green parts only, halved and sliced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

4 cups tightly packed torn kale

1/3 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

2 TBS grated fresh Parmesan or Romano cheese

2 TBS panko breadcrumbs

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°.

2. Cut a thin slice off each squash, so they don’t rock. Sprinkle the inside with salt and pepper and then coat them with cooking spray.

3. Place the squash flesh side down on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil or baking parchment and  bake until it is tender, approximately 30 minutes.

4. Remove the squash from the oven, flip the halves over so they’re skin side down and set aside.

5. Preheat the broiler.

6. Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a nonstick skillet. Add the sausage and cook, breaking the meat into coarse pieces, until brown, about 6 minutes. Transfer the sausage to a bowl.

7. In the  same skillet, add the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil and the leek. Cook about 3 minutes, until the leek softens.

8. Add the garlic and  cook for  30 seconds. Add the kale and toss. Add the broth.

9. Cover and cook until the kale is tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cooked sausage.

10. Divide the kale-sausage stuffing among the squash halves. In a bowl, combine the walnuts, grated cheese and panko bread crumbs.  Sprinkle this mixture  over the stuffed squash and coat with cooking spray.

11. Broil until the breadcrumbs are golden, about 2 minutes.

HELPFUL HINT: The holiday season is approaching. If your champagne goes flat, throw a couple of raisins into it. The sugar from the raisins will pump up the bubbles.

Hope you enjoy this recipe. Have a delicious week!

Best,

Judi