Butternut Squash, Sausage, Kale, and Farro Stew

I’m the type of friend who you have to send frequent reminders to if you want me to do something. Like a “staple it to my head” type of reminder. It’s not that I don’t care- I just have severe short-term memory issues. So it is that this Butternut Squash, Sausage, Kale and Farro Stew is just now being posted. My friend Risha asked me for a recipe using farro a looong time ago. So, here it is! (I know I suck). I call it an Italian Harvest Stew because butternut squash, sausage, kale and farro stew is annoyingly long.

What’s in it?

The main ingredient is butternut squash (shocker), but it’s also filled with Italian sausage meatballs, kale, farro, a nice mirepoix (carrots, celery, and onions), and garlic and rosemary, too.

Don’t get flustered at the mention of words like mirepoix. It really is just carrots, celery, and onions that are diced. So, now that that’s cleared up, let’s get started.

Dispatch the Butternut Squash.

Use a good swivel peeler to peel the tough skin off of the butternut squash. Don’t press too hard or the peeler will get stuck on the hard rind. A light scrape usually takes the waxy, rough peel off fairly easy.

Once you’ve peeled the squash, grab your cutting board, and cut the squash across the width of it. This makes the butternut squash shorter, and therefore, more manageable. Split it in half to expose it’s inside, and use a large spoon to scrape out the seeds and fibers. You may either discard them, or wash the seeds of the fibers and roast them with olive oil and salt.

 After your squash is scraped of its insides, grab a chef’s knife slice the squash into one inch thick slices. Then cut them again into one inch thick sticks. Cut the sticks down to one inch cubes and your butternut squash is ready to go.

Have a blast cleaning the squash’s residue off your hands. That stuff is crazy sticky!

Easy-peasy meatballs.

Instead of putting too much labor into prepping these meatballs, I just cut a pound of ground Italian sausage into one inch cubes. Italian sausage is already seasoned and holds together beautifully, so there’s no need to reinvent the wheel with it. After I cut the sausage, I roll it into small meatballs. Easy, no? Yeah, no, I know.

Bringing it all together.

This has to be one of the easiest stews- heck, meals- I’ve made. Heat olive oil in the bottom of a seven quart dutch oven  (if that price tag is too steep, here’s an less expensive version) and toss in the meatballs. I want to get some color on the meatballs because that will add to the flavor of the stew. Stir them around with a  wooden spoon after browning them for two or three minutes.

Add the onions and the garlic and sauté it until the onions are glossy.

Stir in the rest of the mirepoix (the celery and carrots) and sauté for another five minutes.

Reduce the heat and add the farro and the butternut squash and stir to mix it all together.

Now add the chicken stock and the rosemary. Salt the stew liberally and add the pepper. Bring the stew to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cover the pot.

Let the stew cook for thirty minutes, or until the butternut squash is tender.

Finishing the stew.

To finish the stew, I add a couple of tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. Just a lil’ sumthin’ sumthin’ that adds a little “I don’t know what” in French. Fish out the the rosemary stems now because it’s about to get really green and you won’t be able to find them after this next step.

Throw in a buttload of kale. I know it looks like a lot, but it’s going to cook down almost to nothing- just trust me. Cover the pot once again, but turn the heat off. The residual heat will finish cooking the kale without robbing it of all its color.

By the time you get your ladles, spoons, bowls, and shred your parmesan cheese, the stew will be ready to serve.

Serve and enjoy.

Once you’ve gathered all your dinner and serve-ware your stew should be ready to dish up.

Ladle your stew into bowls…

…and top with shredded parmesan cheese (or don’t).

Pin this recipe to enjoy with your family and friends. It’s perfect for beating the chilly weather…and (hopefully) my horrible memory- sorry, Risha!!

Nothing goes better with this Butternut Squash Stew than some freshly baked bread:

Pan Sobao

Fruit and Nut Pumpkin Bread