Roasted Squash With Sausage Stuffing

Oh dear. I've been very neglectful of this blog over the last week or so. I've just been super-busy, and haven't had much of a chance to write.....but fear not, because I still made plenty of time to eat.  You know me!

November is the month of the squash.

We ordered a Riverford box of nothing but squashes, and when it arrived, it was a beautiful thing to behold - cute, fat-bellied butternuts, an alien-looking, pale greeny-blue crown prince, a stripey harlequin.  We've set ourselves a challenge to make a different recipe with each squash, so here is effort number one.

Roasted Squash With Sausage Stuffing

First, prepare your squash.  Split in two and scoop out all the seeds and weird stringy bits, so you're left with a good big receptacle for your stuffing.

For the stuffing, we emptied three Lincolnshire sausages out of their skin into a big mixing bowl, and added one chopped onion and a couple of cloves of finely-diced garlic.  Also into the mix went two teaspoons of dried sage, and two of English mustard, plus a good grinding of black pepper (no salt - you'll have enough from the sausage meat).  Mix well.

We then packed the stuffing into the hollowed-out squash, and put them into a low oven (about 160 degrees). 

Give the squash a good hour-and-a-half in the oven - they need to cook right through until soft and delectable, and that can't be rushed.  Pour yourself a large glass of wine and stick on the X Factor while you're waiting. 

Check that the squash is cooked through by testing the flesh with a sharp knife - it should be super-soft.   Serve with a leafy green salad.

Full disclosure:  the squash itself, especially near to the skin, was a bit dry and crumbly.  You could probably get around this by drizzling the squash with olive oil before putting it in the oven, or by making a couple of slits in the sides and popping in a slice of butter.  This should keep the squash lovely and moist, which would be perfect against the savoury juiciness of the stuffing.  

So that's recipe one from the November Squash Challenge!  Keep your eyes peeled for the second installment next week.   You know, just in case you also have a surfeit of bizarre yet beautiful squashes on top of your fridge!  We can't be the only ones!