Apple Sausage Stuffed Butternut Pumpkin
Ingredients
- 1 butternut pumpkin
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 226 g Italian sausage
- 1/2 onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 cups baby spinach lightly packed
- 1 apple diced
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage finely chopped
- 1/2 tablespoon fresh rosemary finely chopped
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup pecans chopped
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200 degrees C.
- Slice the butternut pumpkin in half lengthwise.
- Scoop the seeds out with a spoon.
- Lightly oil the butternut pumpkin and season with salt and pepper.
- Lay the butternut pumpkin, cut side down on a baking sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes.
- While the butternut pumpkin is cooking, Remove the casing from the sausage ,saute on medium heat. Use a spatula to break up the sausage and cook until it’s just browned.
- Add the onions, garlic and baby spinach to the pan and stir for 2-3 minutes, or until the spinach is wilted.
- Add the apple, sage and rosemary and cook for another 2-3 minutes, or until the apple has softened slightly.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the cranberries and pecans.
- When the butternut pumpkin halves are cooked through, remove them from the oven, flip them over and remove some of the flesh (but leave plenty to enjoy!) to make room for the filling. Save this removed flesh and turn it into mashed pumpkin to enjoy later!
- Fill the butternut pumpkin with the apple sausage filling.
- Turn the grill on the oven and bake the filled butternut pumpkin for 5 minutes, or until they’re golden on top. Serve immediately.
Notes
Depending on the size of your butternut squash, you may have leftovers of the sausage apple filling. This is great mixed with sauteed cauliflower rice for a nourishing lunch.