Stuffed Kabocha Squash

Kabocha is winter squash sometimes called a Japanese pumpkin. It has an exceptionally sweet flavor that seems like a cross between pumpkin and sweet potato. I always use chicken sausage as the protein base but vary the fruit that I add for that tiny bit of sweetness.

Here is what I used:

2 kabocha squash

3 uncooked chicken sausage removed from the casing

1 Cup chopped celery

3/4 Cup diced onion

2 T chopped fresh rosemary

3/4 Cup diced granny smith apple

2 T olive oil

3/4 Cup bread crumbs

Here is what I did:

1. I preheated the over to 390.

2. I cut the ends off of the squash to create a flat surface for the squash to sit on while baked and then cut the squash in half the long way.

3. I scraped out the seeds and then baked it until the inside was soft (about 40 minutes but this will depend on the size of your squash).

4. As the squash cooked I chopped the veggies and preheated a pan. I heated up the olive oil and then sautéed the onion and celery until it was softened.

5. I then added the chicken sausage meat and cooked it until it was browned. About halfway through the browning process, I added the apple and rosemary.

6. Once that was finished I added the breadcrumbs and stirred it all together.

7. I divided the stuffing mixture among the 4 halves of cooked squash and put it back into the oven under the broiler on low.
   

This can be done ahead of time and assembled right before eating, which I do frequently because of my nighttime teaching schedule. The squash can seem to be a bit dry if you do it this way so you may want to drizzle some olive oil on top to keep it a bit moist.