This is my 100th post, and I am SO happy that it gets to be this delicious dish.  Last week, while on vacation, I had lots of time to catch up on reading some of my favorite blogs and cataloging ‘things to make.’ During that process, I stumbled upon this amazing recipe from Figs and Flour – a blog that highlights one key ingredient each week and then works to find several ways to prepare it so that leftovers are utilized and unused ingredients are not thrown away.  

As with all posts on my blog, my process is to find a recipe that I want to make and use it as the foundation for my meal.  I’ll make a few tweaks here and there based on what I have on hand and/or what I am craving that day.  I am a recipe curator and a recipe cataloger (let’s pretend that’s a word) rather than a recipe creator.

Anyways, back to this yummy dish.  The process of preparing the meal was super easy.  First, the squash went into the oven and baked for 30 minutes.  While that was in I cooked the farro – slowly adding broth and stirring regularly.  In a separate bowl I combined the ground sausage and mushrooms with garlic and white wine until it smelled decadent.   Once the squash was done baking I scooped out the inside of the cap and added that squash to the farro mixture to ensure I was utilizing every possible bit.

The original recipe from Figs and Flour also calls for some crispy fresh sage. I didn’t have any so I added some dried sage which did add a nice flavor.  This is a dish that I think I could serve to company sometime – it was pretty, and filling. Thank you again to Amanda over at Figs and Flour for the original recipe.  If you haven’t been to her blog you need to get over there pronto and prepare to be inspired.

Here’s to 100 more!

Ingredients:

• 2 Medium Acorn Squash
• Olive Oil
• 1 cup of dried farro
• 2 cups of broth (I used beef because it was what I had on hand)
• 2 cups of baby bella mushrooms – chopped
• 4 oz of sausage – de-cased
• 1 clove of garlic – minced
• Splash of white wine
• A pinch of dried sage
• Shaved parmesan

Steps and Notes:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees
2. Cut the top 1/4 off of the acorn squash (parallel to the equator – not pole to pole)
3. Remove the seeds and gently pour olive oil over each piece of squash. Season with salt and pepper then place the squash face up on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes
4. In a sauce pan add the farro and 1 cup of broth. Simmer for about 8 minutes and then slowly add the remainder of the liquid until all 2 cups are absorbed. (Total cooking time about 20 minutes).  
5. While the farro cooks use a separate saute pan to first cook the ground sausage.  Use a spatula to crumble it well.
6. Then, add the mushrooms, some salt, and a splash of white wine. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Then add the garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Use medium-low heat.
7. Combine the mushroom mixture with the farro, sprinkle a pinch of dried sage, and stir well.
8. Remove the squash from the oven and scrape the squash top to remove as much as you can with a fork/spoon.  Add this to a bowl.
   • Note: I was able to remove about a 1/2 cup of squash
9. Gather a heaping cup of the farro & mushroom mixture and combine it with the reserved squash.  Stuff this inside of one acorn squash and sprinkle with shaved parmesan.

Thoughts for Next Time:

• While eating this meal the hubs suggested experimenting with some sort of ‘twice baked’ squash. Maybe something like this!
• This recipe from skinny taste is very similar except it uses celery and chicken sausage. Great adaptations for a slightly lighter final dish.

Plate made by the amazingly talented Clinton Pottery