Farro and Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash is an amazing healthy dinner. A little smoked or Italian sausage to add a rich savory flavor to the farro and acorn squash. Takes a little time to cook but not much effort for a fabulous dinner.
We have been having lots of snow days around here which has given me an opportunity to experiment a little. A favorite at one of my local restaurant haunts, is a farro salmon salad. It’s not really a salad but warm farro with different vegetables mixed in and topped with salmon. They change the vegetables each month so it’s always a little different.
Since I really like the nutty and somewhat crunchy texture of farro, I decided to combine it with smoked sausage. I found a recipe that was similar to what I was hoping to achieve and adapted it somewhat. I was so pleased with the results. It looks pretty spiffy and tasted fabulous.
Sometimes I’m in a hurry and will just microwave acorn squash, but since I had to cook the farro anyway, I roasted it this time. They really do have more flavor if you roast them.
How do you cook acorn squash:
Acorn squash is really easy to cook though it will take about 50 to 60 minutes. I like to cut off the bottom so that it will sit flat in the pan, just don’t cut too deep or the squash will come out. Place in a baking dish with a little bit of water and cover with tin foil. They will be perfectly cooked and not dried out, easy peasy.
While they were roasting away, I browned the smoked sausage and then sautéd the vegetables and added it all together. I thought about adding wine, but the flavors were already perfect and sometimes you just have to leave things alone. While I used smoked sausage, any type of sausage would be delicious in this dish. I made these a day ahead, covered and refrigerated them and then just warmed them in the oven.
This dish takes a little longer to make since you have to cook the farro and the squash, but it’s worth it and pretty healthy too!
Adapted from Skinny Taste
Farro and Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 acorn squash (2-3 squash) halved, with seeds removed
- 2 tablespoons butter optional
- salt and pepper
- ½ cup uncooked farro rinsed and drained
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth
- 6 ounces smoked sausage/Italian sausage
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup onion diced
- ½ cup celery diced, optional
- 6 ounces mushrooms sliced
- 2 leaves sage chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º. Brush the cut side of the squash with butter and season with salt and pepper. Place in a baking dish and add ¼ cup water to the bottom of the pan. Cover and bake for 50 minutes until tender. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes. Remove and allow to cool slightly. (in the alternative, you can cook in microwave)
- Meanwhile, cook farro in chicken broth according to package directions.
- While farro is cooking, in a large skillet, brown the sausage on medium heat. If using Italian sausage, break up into small pieces and cook until no longer pink, if using polish sausage, cut into small pieces and just brown. Remove to a dish.
- In the same skillet, add olive oil and saute onion and celery, add salt and pepper. Cook until celery is no longer firm. About 8-10 minutes. Add mushrooms and sage to the pan and more salt and pepper. Cook about 5 minutes, then cover and cook for an additional 2-5 minutes until mushrooms are soft. Return the cooked sausage and the cooked farro to the pan and mix well.
- Divide the farro into the roasted squash and serve.
Nutrition
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