Sausage Squash

A guest blog! Well kind of. This is something that my wife has introduced to me from her American roots. I believe it is described as ‘southern’ cooking, which often is considered just the Cajun and Creole food of Louisiana, but that is just a particular aspect of it. The primary basis of southern cuisine is corn, and hence cornmeal, which you see used in a variety of ways. I will leave it for another occasion to tell you about ‘Biscuits and Gravy’, and the story of Hush Puppies (deep-fried cornmeal), but it is amazing how varied it is. There is a cookbook called ‘What Mrs. Fisher Knows about Old Southern Cooking’ from 1881, which is written by a former slave and demonstrates the nature of the way the African-American food culture, and ultimately ‘southern’ food, emerged. It is quite an incredible read, very different to modern-day cookbooks, and worth finding out about.

This southern recipe my wife cooks for me frequently. It is a straightforward dish to do, and a great easy supper. I really like it, and it is very tasty. You can serve it as a side dish or as a main, although we normally serve it with some simple green beans and toasted walnuts. You could serve it with some creole rice or even mac and cheese!

4 Sausages (pork / venison work best) – (two per person)

2 acorn squashes (or one per person)

20 g Breadcrumbs

25 g Parmesan Cheese

Salt and Pepper

Cut the squash in half, removing the seeds and fibres. Place the halved squash in a roasting tin half filled with water, and roast until tender (about 25 minutes, depending on the size of the squash, the ones we get in the UK are fairly small so this should be sufficient) at 180ºC. Meanwhile fry the sausages and chopped into small pieces and set aside. Once the squash has roasted scoop out the pulp and mix together with the chopped sausages, seasoning, breadcrumbs and about half of the cheese. Return the combined mixture to the squash shells and cover with the remaining cheese. Return to the oven for a further 10-15 minutes or until everything has warmed through. Serve in their shell.