Yellow Squash Stuffed With Sausage And Brown Rice

This dish can be made year round. Any squash works well. We have used zucchini, yellow, and even green Mexican and all are fine for this recipe. You must pick firm squash though because softer squash can break while you are scooping out the flesh. We use spicy hot Italian sausage as a little goes a long way in flavor. Arthur Ave has many stores selling very good sausage, not at all like supermarkets. It's made fresh and w/o extenders or chemicals, and the variety is endless. You can use a leaner pork product or beef, if you desire. This can be prepared in advance or even cooked and reheated.2-3 squash per serving depending on size and additional menu items

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds of sausage or lean ground pork for about 18 squash)
1 1/2 cups of cooked brown rice ; you can substitute white rice, cous-cous, or quinoa with success.
1/4 cup chopped parsley leaves
5 cloves of pressed garlic
1/2 cup grated Romano or your preference. If using plain meat instead of sausage, you will need to increase the cheese or add salt.
Olive oil
1/4 cup chopped pine nuts; substitute almonds if you prefer
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 1/2 teaspoons of oregano
1 tablespoon of Balsamic vinegar
Black pepper
1 large can of Italian crushed tomatoes

Method
Wash the squash well in salt water, rinsing well. Dry them off . Working over a bowl , hold firmly and core each one using the blossom end as a guide. Grasp firmly or it will split. Core one side and then the other. Do not attempt to go straight through to the end.They should look like the photo.

Refrigerate while you prepare the stuffing.
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan. Add the sausage ,which has been removed from it's casing to the pan. breaking up any clumps. When the meat is no longer pink looking, add the chopped onion and cored squash flesh and continue to cook until the meat is nice and brown. Remove from the heat and press the garlic right into the pan . Add the rice , parsley, cheese and oregano mixing well. Lastly, add the nuts and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning for salt. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Place the finely chopped garlic in a baking pan with 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the crushed tomatoes and a small bunch of chopped basil, or 1 teaspoon of dried and stir well. Using your fingers, gently stuff the squash and lay them in the baking dish. Spoon some tomatoes over the top. Cover with foil and bake about 30 minutes or until the squash pierces easily with a fork.

Serve with a simple green salad and some great bread from Arthur Avenue.