Sausage-Stuffed Squash

There are two failproof ways to dress up a food item that you are either not so fond of or are tired of eating. One involves covering the item in question with cheese. The other, invariably, involves sausage.

Now, I like squash. A lot. But we have eaten a lot of it this summer, and so I decided to come up with a fun way to dress it up. I combined sweet turkey Italian sausage with bell peppers, arugula, garlic, and fennel seed, added some jarred pasta sauce, and voila! We had epic stuffed squash. If you have any leftover sauce after stuffing your squash, save it to top spaghetti.

After the squash finished baking, I spotted some Pure Luck parsley and garlic chevre (which you can buy from Greenling) in the fridge and dotted our servings with it. It turned out to be a great final touch — just added a bit of tanginess to the sweet sauce. I’m listing the chevre as an optional ingredient, but I highly recommend it if you have some lying around.

Sausage-Stuffed Squash

4 summer squash (I used two 8-ball and two yellow)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 bell peppers, finely chopped
1 bunch arugula, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
20 oz pkg sweet turkey Italian sausage
1 tbsp fennel (anise) seed
24 oz jar pasta sauce (I used Classico Tomato Basil)
Salt and pepper to taste
Chevre (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the tops off of the 8-ball squash and scoop out the innards, leaving a thin rind. Halve the yellow squash and do the same. Be sure to get all of the seeds.

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Remove sausage from casing and add to skillet, stirring to crumble. Add peppers, garlic, arugula, and fennel seed. Cook 10-15 minutes, until sausage is browned, veggies are tender, and most of the liquid has evaporated. Add pasta sauce and cook another 5 minutes or so, until heated through.

Using a small spoon, fill squash with sauce. Bake for 25 minutes, until squash is tender. Dot with crumbled chevre, if using.

Local Box Meal Plan: July 19-23

This week, we are getting:

Fresh pinto beans – Just Peachy
Lentil sprouts – Groovy Greens
Figs – Oasis Gardens
Blueberries – Berry Best Farm
Bibb lettuce – Bella Verde
Peppers – Comanche Farm
Key limes – G&S Groves
Squash – Massey
Personal watermelon – Massey
Cucumbers – Acadian
Eggplant – Tecolote

I am making:

Watermelon – Blueberry Salad with Feta – The original doesn’t use blueberries, but I think they’d be fantastic here, especially with the key lime juice.

Prosciutto-wrapped figs – Recipe to come in the handout in your Local Box.

Pesto vegetable tart – To roast peppers, put them under the broiler for about 15 minutes, turning halfway through, until the skins are blackened. Put them in a ziplock bag and let them sit for 10 minutes. When you remove them, the skins will peel right off, and they’ll be easy to de-seed. I’m going to roast all of the peppers and use some here and the rest on sandwiches and salads.

Turkey-cream cheese sandwiches – Spread two slices of hearty bread, like ciabatta, with garden vegetable cream cheese. Top one sliced with turkey, sliced cucumbers, lettuce, sprouts, and some of those peppers you roasted for the above recipe. You could even press it in a panini press or in a cast iron skillet for a warm sandwich.

Basic pinto beans – These have a wonderfully creamy taste and texture, so I want to let their flavor shine by not doing much to them. Simmer about 10 minutes in chicken (or vegetable) broth and season with salt and pepper.

Local Box Meal Plan: July 5-9

Don’t you just love the variety of produce we get during the summer? Check out all of the farm-fresh goodness this week:

Mustard greens – Texas Naturals
Indian cucumbers – My Father’s Farm
Purple potatoes – Tecolote
Carrots – My Father’s Farm
Opal basil – Acadian
Canteloupe – Orange Blossom Farm
Slicing tomatoes – Hall Farm
San Marzano tomatoes – Acadian
Lady cream peas – Just Peachy Farm
Peaches – Caskey
Squash – Massey
Garlic – Ringger

So, I am making:

Simple tomato sauce – Guys, this is what San Marzano tomatoes are ideal for. You know those Cento canned tomatoes that make such good sauce? They are San Marzano tomatoes. Peel and seed your SM tomatoes and any slicing tomatoes you may need to complete the recipe, which originally calls for canned ones. To peel tomatoes, cut a small X in the bottom of each, drop in boiling water for 30 seconds, then dunk in an ice bath to cool off. The skin will peel right off. You can freeze any sauce you don’t use immediately.

Squash in garlic cream sauce – I’ll probably serve with grilled pork chops. Also, since I think mayo is gross, I’ll probably use a yogurt/sour cream combo in place of it.

Sour cream and herb potato salad with peas – This calls for green peas, but use your lady cream peas instead. I’ll serve with burgers.

Opal basil lemonade – Opal basil is just purple basil. It’ll look beautiful in this drink.

Mustard greens salad with pork and peaches – The original recipes calls for Asian pears, but I’m subbing peaches.

Canteloupe with chopped mint – A simple, refreshing snack.

I’ll be using the Indian cucumbers and any remaining slicing tomatoes in salads during the week. I’ve never had an Indian cucumber, but have learned via some Internet research that it’s a tuberous root that tastes like a cuke and can be eaten raw.

Local Box Meal Plan: May 31-June 4

We get a new fruit this week: plums from My Father’s Farm! In addition to:

• Blackberries from Naegelin or Oak Hill Farms
• Beets from Ringger
• Mangoes from G&S Groves
• Green beans from Acadian
• Miniature plums from My Father’s Farm
• Basil from Ringger
• Cherry tomatoes from Naegelin
• Green bell peppers from My Father’s Farm
• Red spring onions from My Father’s Farm
• Squash (looks like acorn, possibly) from Acadian

So, I am making:

Beet-feta tart

Chicken-and-Brie Sandwiches with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes — I’m adding sliced basil to this and omitting the mayo, because you know how I loathe it.

Five-Spice Pork Chops with Grilled Plums

Garlic Pepper Chicken with Mango Green Bean Salad — I’m going to add thinly sliced red spring onion to the garlic and pepper in the first step.

Southwestern stuffed acorn squash — Try adding veggie “meat” crumbles instead of the sausage for a vegetarian dish, and sub green bell pepper for the red.

Lime Yogurt Cake with Blackberry Sauce

Lime Yogurt Cake with Blackberry Sauce

Summer Squash Gratin

I knew I’d be making this recipe as soon as I saw the bounty of squash we received in our last box. It’s one of my favorites, and I’ve made a few modifications to incorporate more Local Box ingredients. Fresh squash and baby onions mix with an oregano-parsley pesto, cheese, and brown-butter breadcrumbs to make a dish that’s fresh and decadent. Yum.

Now, as written, this recipe can be time-consuming, but I’m including some suggestions at the bottom to facilitate weeknight cooking.

Summer Squash Gratin (adapted from 101 Cookbooks)

zest of one lemon
2 pounds summer squash or zucchini, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 baby onions (about 3-4 in. in diameter), thinly sliced

1/4 cup fresh oregano leaves
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley
1 large garlic clove, chopped
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
pinch of red pepper flakes
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 cups fresh bread crumbs*
3/4 cup grated Gruyere cheese (or Swiss cheese)

Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Rub a 13×9 baking dish with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle with lemon zest, and set aside.

Place the zucchini slices into a colander placed over a sink, toss with the sea salt and set aside for 10-15 minutes (to drain a bit — this softens them up and makes them cook more quickly) and go on to prepare the pesto and bread crumbs.

Make the pesto by pureeing the oregano, parsley, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt, red pepper flakes, and olive oil in a food processor or using a hand blender. Set aside.

Make the breadcrumbs by melting the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook for about five minutes until the butter is fragrant and has turned brown. It will smell deliciously nutty. Stir the breadcrumbs into the browned butter.

Transfer the squash and onions to a large mixing bowl. Add the oregano pesto. Toss until everything is well coated. Add the cheese and half of the bread crumbs and toss again. Taste one of the zucchini pieces and add more seasoning (salt or red pepper) if needed.

Transfer the squash mixture to the lemon-zested pan, top with the remaining crumbs, and bake for 40 to 50 minutes When the dish is finished, you’ll be able to slide a fork easily into the zucchini.

Serves about 8 as a side.

*To make breadcrumbs, tear bread into pieces the size of your thumb, and pulse in a food processor. I like my breadcrumbs a bit larger than the ones you buy at the store, about the size of small pebbles. You can certainly use store-bought breadcrumbs instead of making your own, but reduce the amount to 1 cup, as these are much finer than homemade ones.

To facilitate weeknight cooking, do the following:

• Use store-bought pesto instead of making your own. Basil would be good, but I’ve seen a Classico sun-dried tomato pesto that I’d love to try.
• Slice the squash and onions and grate the cheese the night before.
• Use store-bought breadcrumbs (see note above).