This dish takes me back to college when my roommate Rachel and I would cook together. We loved the savory flavor of sausage paired with delicious Winter squash. "Sausage and Squish" became a regular favorite and remains one to this day!
Ingredients:
1 medium to large sized acorn or delicata squash
1 package of spicy Italian sausage (not in links)
1. Preheat the oven to 350. Cut the squash in half and place each half cut-side-down in a baking dish with 1/2 inch of water. Bake for 35 minutes or until easily pierced by a knife (be careful not to overcook the squash). The sausage will only take 10 minutes or so, so you can do this at the very end.
Next the greens! I was inspired to make this side dish after a delicious anniversary dinner with Barry at a restaurant in Charlottesville, Bang!
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Ingredients:
15 - 20 baby bok choy (sold at most asian grocery stores)
1 cup of raw spinach, minced
1 carrot
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Splash of beef broth
1 tsp soy sauce
Salt & pepper to taste
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Begin with the hash since you can re-heat it if needed.
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1. Peel and dice the carrot and cook in a steamer basket or boiling water until soft. Mash with a fork and set aside.
2. Next, heat a splash of olive oil in a sautee pan and toss in the garlic. After a minute or so add the spinach, stirring frequently to prevent burning. When the spinach is a vibrant green you can mix in the mashed carrot. Next, add 1 tsp of soy sauce and pour in the beef broth a little bit at a time so that the consistency is somewhere between oatmeal and cream of potato soup. That's not very specific... just add as much as you like! You want to make a sauce that you can pour over the bok choy while still maintaining some texture. You can set it aside at this stage, or blend it in a food processor to get a creamier texture. Season with a little salt & pepper to taste.
3. Wash the bok choy very carefully. They often have a lot of sand in them so I like to use the nozzle attached to most kitchen sinks to really clean them. Try to shake off as much water as you can so you don't make a mess when you sautee these bad boys.
4. Heat 1 Tbs olive oil over medium heat. Add the bok choy and toss regularly to keep them from getting too wilted on any one side. Keep cooking them until they're tender but firm. If they're taking too long you can put a lid on top and steam them quickly.
Now back to the main dish!
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2. Heat 1 Tbs of olive oil in a sautee pan over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and break up with a spoon/spatula/whatever utensil your heart desires. Sautee until cooked through.
3. Remove the squash from the oven and flip them over, cut-side-up. Put each one on a plate.
3. Remove the squash from the oven and flip them over, cut-side-up. Put each one on a plate.
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4. Pour the hot sausage and oil directly into the squash cavity. The dish already has so much flavor it won't need any other seasoning but you could add salt & pepper if you like. Or if you're like Barry, a little Sriracha sauce goes well with everything!
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5. Place 8-10 bok choy on each plate so that they're all oriented the same direction. Pour the spinach hash in a single line across all of them.
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6. Serve and enjoy!
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