Spicy Italian Sausage & Porcini Mushroom Rice Stuffed Acorn Squash.

Derived from Chef John‘s Merguez Sausage & Rice Stuffed Acorn Squash Recipe from Food Wishes

Ingredients for 4:

For the Rice:
1/3 cup rehydrated Porcini mushrooms
1 tsp celery salt
1 bay leaf
3 cups rice to cook - you’ll use 1 cup of cooked rice in the stuffing

For the Stuffing & Squash:
2 acorn squash
4 links Italian Sausage - 12 oz?
½ red bell pepper minced
1 jalapeno minced
1/3 cup shallot minced
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
3 tbsp plain yogurt
1 egg
2 cloves garlic minced
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp celery seed
½ salt (or to taste)
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 cup cooked Porcini & Chicken Broth rice
seasoned breadcrumbs
grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
olive oil
foil
casserole baking dish

Re hydrate the Porcini mushrooms by soaking them in water for at least 15 min. Reserve the water. Wash the rice 3-5 times in cold water. Put the rice into a saucepan to cook. Take half of the mushrooms, dice them and add them to the 3 cups dried rice in a saucepan. Pour over the reserved mushroom liquid being sure not to pour in any sediment into the rice water. Fill the rest of the volume of liquid you need with chicken stock. Add 1 bay leaf and 1 tsp. celery salt. Cook the rice and allow it to cool to room temperate. 

Cut the 2 acorn squash into halves. Deseed each half with a spoon. Discard seeds. Place the squash in a casserole/baking dish. Lightly coat each half with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Cook for 25 minutes in a 350F oven. Take out of the oven and set aside to be filled.

While the squash is cooking, take the casing off the sausage. Watch your salt levels! I’d test out the sausage by cooking a little and getting a taste of the current salt level. In a mixing bowl, add the sausage, remaining mushrooms, red bell pepper, jalapeno, shallot, mint, yogurt, egg, garlic, cumin, celery salt, celery seed, smoked paprika, salt, & pepper. Incorporate well into a pasty mixture. Mix in 1 cup of the Porcini shroom rice.

Equally fill the squash cavities with the stuffing mixture. Top with a dusting of breadcrumbs, Parmigiano-Reggiano, salt, and olive oil. Watch your salt levels! The squash got some initially. The stuffing has some. I just added some to taste on the top. Cover with foil making sure the foil isn’t touching the tops of the squash. Bake for 1 hour at 350. 

After 1 hour, take the foil off and increase the temperature of the oven to about 390. Test the squash for softness by poking it with a fork… It should be soft at this point. Bake for another 15-25 min or until the tops are golden brown. Let sit for 10 min and enjoy!