RECIPE: The Ultimate Harvest Dinner
Ever tasted heaven in an acorn squash? I didn't think the words heaven and squash could ever belong in the same sentence, let alone that I would love it. I proved myself wrong with this perfect harvest inspired main course. It's a delightful dish that was fortunately born and raised (in my garden) on this lovely island. Once you make you'll understand why farm to table isn't a fade, it's a lifestyle. Enjoy!
Start out with 4 whole acorn squash (it will make a total of eight servings). I often will buy two whole squash and then set the remaining filling aside (1/2 of it) in a sealable container (I will mentioned what I do with it later).
You will also need:
1 white onion
1 can of chicken stock
1/2 cup of wild rice
1 lb of sweet Italian sausage
4 tablespoons butter
1 shallot
4 garlic cloves
4 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1 granny smith apple
1 pound sweet Italian sausage in ground form
3 celery stalks
Step One:
Take the 1/2 cup wild rice and add the 1 1/2 cups chicken broth to it in a pan on the stovetop. Add one tablespoon of butter. This will need to cook for about 45 minutes. Bring to boil and then reduce heat.
Heat stove to 350 degrees
Step Two:
Remove a small amount of the both the top and the bottom of the acorn squash. Then cut the acorn squash in half in the middle. Since you removed a little bit of both the top and bottom you could be able to sit the acorn squash easy down without it rolling. With a spoon remove the seeds and guts if the acorn squash. I even remove a little bit of the flesh so there is more room for filling.
Gently coat bottom of pan with olive oil. Set acorn squash in pan (one that will fit at least 4 halves with a little space between them. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with 1/8 of teaspoon salt and pepper. Put into oven and cook for 45 minutes.
Step Three:
In a stovetop skillet add:
1 lb. Sweet Italian sausage
1 white onion (diced)
1 Shallot (diced)
4 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon fresh diced rosemary
Cook until sausage is fully cooked through.
Step Four:
In a large bowl add:
1 granny smith apple diced into small chucks
3 celery stalked diced
3/4 bread crumbs
1/4 of chicken broth
Add the cooked wild rice (from step one) & sausage filling (from step three).
Stir together to make the filling.
Now add the filling to the acorn squash. Making sure to press filling into acorn squash so it is completely full and mounds over the acorn.
Put in oven for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.
Pull out and add parmesan cheese to the top of each squash. Put back in oven for another 8-10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Sometimes I will turn on the broiler option at the last minute to brown the cheese. Serve!
PS if you don't want 8 servings you can cut the recipe in 1/2. I often put 1/2 of the filling in a sealable container and then the next morning I add it to a pan. Heat it up and serve two sunny side eggs with it or use it as an scramble or omelet filler. Two meals, one prep time makes one happy farmer!