Roasted Butternut & Sausage Dressing

R

Roasted Butternut &

Sausage Dressing

"Roasted Butternut squash with sweet Italian sausage, fennel, onion, apple & garlic tossed with homemade oatmeal bread croutons, soaked in olive oil, butter, rich chicken broth & finished with Parmesan cheese & nutmeg"

Ingredients

Note: If using a rich, homemade chicken stock you will only need two cups and won't need to reduce.

1 quart chicken broth

1/3 cup dried cranberries

Croutons

1 pound (16 oz) bread cubes

1/4 cup melted, cooled butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 large eggs, whisked

Chicken broth

1 small Butternut squash

Parchment paper

Salt

Sautéed Mixture

Large non stick pan

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 ½ cups medium dice, onion

1 cup medium chop, fennel bulb

1 cup medium dice, apple

4-5 ounces ground, mild Italian sausage, broke into pieces, formed into irregular shaped

Salt & pepper

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1 heaping tablespoon Italian parsley, chopped

½ cup pecans

1 ounce finely grated, Parmesan cheese

Fresh nutmeg

1 large egg

2 tablespoons chicken broth

Pastry brush

Olive oil

Parmesan cheese

Italian parsley

Directions

Pour the broth into a large sauce pan and reduce to half (2 cups).

Soak the dried cranberries in a small bowl with 2-3 tablespoons of hot water to plump up. Drain.

Croutons

Slice the bread into large, bite size cubes and spread out onto a large baking sheet. Toast in the center of oven at 375F until golden and crispy, flipping over with a spatula half way through. About 15-20 minutes.

Roasted Butternut Squash

Peel, cut off the ends, cut in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Cut widthwise segments into about a 3/4 inch thickness.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, arrange the slices on top and season both sides with salt. Roast in the center of oven at 425F until fork tender. About 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

Sautéed Mixture

Add the butter to pan and heat over medium high temp. Once hot and the onion, fennel and apple. Break the sausage over the top, season with salt & pepper, reduce to medium temp and sauté

until mix start to soften. Add the garlic and herbs and remove from heat.

Add bread cubes to a large mixing bowl. Drizzle over ¼ cup cooled, melted butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the eggs and add 1 to 1 1/2 cups of cooled broth and toss with hands until moistened but not soaked. Add the sautéed mixture, pecans, cranberries, Parmesan cheese and nutmeg and toss with hands until mixed well. Pour into a buttered & olive oiled 5 quart baking dish and arrange desired amount of Butternut squash on top.

Whisk the egg and 2 tablespoons of broth and brush all over the top, brushing out any eggy areas. Drizzle with olive oil then gently press with palms of your hands to lightly compact.

Bake 375F oven until edges are bubbling and top is browned. About 25 minutes. Remove from oven, grate Parmesan over the top, garnish with chopped parsley and serve.

Serves 6-8