Farro and Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash

Fall is squash season, and although I love using all kinds of squash as side dishes, sometimes I let them take a starring role, as in this stuffed acorn squash recipe that makes a great main dish. I love a good bread or rice stuffing, but wanted to give farro a try this time, adding some sausage to give it a little extra oomph. If you’re a vegetarian, you could easily omit the sausage and it would still taste delicious. The recipe contains a number of steps, but if you plan well, you can make it all ahead of time and place it in the oven just before dinner. Start by roasting the squash in the oven, let it cool slightly, then scoop out the cooked squash.

Cut the squash into large chunks.

Add the chunks of squash to the cooked farro, sausage and cheeses.

Spoon the stuffing back into the squash.Sprinkle grated mozzarella on top. If you have more stuffing than will fit into the two halves (and most likely you will), butter a small casserole and place the stuffing inside.

Bake for about a half hour, then turn on the broiler for a few minutes to brown the top nicely. Be careful, it will burn easily!

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Farro and Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash

Author: Ciao Chow Linda

printable recipe here

Ingredients

• 1 large acorn squash
• salt, pepper
• a few tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 links Italian sausage
• 1/4 cup onion, minced
• 1 stalk of celery, minced
• 1/2 cup farro
• 1 cup water
• 1 egg, beaten lightly
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• a couple of leaves of minced fresh sage
• a small amount of minced parsley

Instructions

1. Cut the squash in half, remove the seeds, rub the cut ends with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Place in a 350 degree oven, covered with aluminum foil and bake for about 45 minutes to an hour or until tender.
3. Let the squash cool.
4. Bring the water to a boil, add the farro and a pinch of salt.
5. Cover with a lid, and let simmer on low heat for about 20-25 minutes or until all the water is absorbed.
6. Let the farro come to room temperature.
7. Take the casings off the sausage and break up the sausage into bits, cooking in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.
8. Add the minced onion and minced celery, and cook until softened,
9. Scrape the cooked squash from the interior of the squash, cutting into large pieces.
10. To the cooked and cooled farro, add the squash, the cooked sausage, onion and celery, the beaten egg, the parmesan cheese and most of the mozzarella cheese, keeping some aside to sprinkle on top. Season with salt, pepper and the minced parsley.
11. Mix thoroughly, then stuff back into the squash.
12. You will have more than will fit into the squash, so butter a small casserole and place the remaining stuffing inside,
13. Sprinkle more mozzarella cheese on top.
14. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes.
15. At the end of 30 minutes, turn on the broiler for a few minutes to allow for greater browning on top, but keep an eye on it since it can burn easily,.

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