Winter Squash Stuffed with Quinoa, Walnuts, and Grain Sausage

We made this a long time ago with the last of our African squash from the garden, but it would be perfect with any winter squash, especially acorn squash. One squash would serve two people.

You could use rice or couscous instead of quinoa if you had those on hand. This could easily be made vegan by omitting the parmesan topping.



Ingredients

1 acorn/carnival/small butternut squash per 2 people

Stuffing:
2 grain sausages, diced (we used Field Roast brand, Smoked Apple Sage)
Several fresh sage leaves, chopped
1/2 cup walnuts, broken up
3/4 cup quinoa
1 1/2 cups broth (we used veggie broth)
handful of grated parmesan



For the squash:
Cut in half and remove all the seeds and innards. Roast at about 400 degrees until the squash is tender all the way through.



Meanwhile, roast your walnuts in a hot pan that has a lid. When they start to brown, add the diced grain sausage. When that starts to brown, add the sage. Pour in the broth and bring it to a boil and then add your quinoa and cover, lowering the heat. It should be fully cooked in 15-20 minutes.



Stuff your squash halves with the stuffing mixture, add cheese, and bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes. Serve with a salad or roasted vegetables.

Winter Squash Pizza with Sage Pesto & Feta

Long time, no post. Sorry about that. I've been busy trying to start a business!!

If you follow this blog, you already know that we love pizza. Well, get ready to start seeing a lot of pizza here. Making your own pizza dough is so simple that we now have pizza about once a week, at least. The best thing about this pizza is that it uses local, seasonal ingredients. Pizza is ridiculously versatile, so be creative!


Simple Pizza Dough


For the sage pesto:


about 20 large sage leaves
4 cloves of garlic
half a cup of shredded parmesan cheese
1/4 cup walnuts, pine nuts, pecans, etc.
1/4 cup olive oil


Process in a food processor or blender until smooth.


To make the pizza:


Start by dicing some winter squash--we used african squash that we grew in our garden, but butternut, acorn, etc. will work perfectly as well. Roast at 400 degrees until fork-tender. Meanwhile, thinly slice a yellow onion (vidalia is what we used).


Preheat over to 500 degrees and go ahead and heat up your pizza pan or pizza stone. We used to use a pizza stone, but now we prefer just a regular old cookie sheet.





To assemble the pizza:
Roll out your dough on a floured service and then transfer to your pan/pizza stone. You will probably need to put a little dusting of corn meal on your pan or stone so the dough doesn't stick. Now spread the pesto out over the entire dough (you may need to add more oil if it's not easily spreading). Next, add the roasted squash, then the feta, some black pepper, and then some shredded mozzarella. Finally, add the sliced onion.


Cook for about 12-15 minutes or until top begins to brown and bottom is crispy.
Valpolicella would be my wine choice, but Pinot Gris would also be great, if white is your thing.