Butternut squash chili

I had a couple of bottles of this fancy Daves ‘gourmet’ butternut squash pasta sauce on the pantry shelf. Got it at Costco a while back. It seemed really healthy and all that. But I just never seemed to use it with pasta. Avoiding carbs and all that, I guess. What to do with it….. Hmmmm.

Chili? Of course. And the guests I had over that evening agreed that it was a total success.

Since I had a nice small butternut squash in the veggie bin, and some fresh Italian sausage, chili just seemed to fill the bill on this windy winter day. I just wanted something other than the same old tomato based concoction … something lighter. I was really amazed, upon opening the jar of the sauce. It was really fantastic. Very tasty, and nuanced. You really ‘got’ all the satisfying winter squash flavor, nicely balanced with spices and herbs. This was going to be very good, and very easy.

Ingredients

One jar of Dave’s Gourmet Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce -or similar ( or see recipe below to make your own butternut squash sauce base)

2 cups of steamed tender butternut squash in small chunks

1/2 cup of sun-dried tomatoes, julienned

1 large stalk of celery, diced

1/2 small sweet onion, minced

1/2 pound sweet italian sausage

1/4 cup unfiltered apple cider

1/4 cup white wine

      (adjust both of these to your taste!)

Butter to saute the mushrooms and sage

Grapeseed or olive oil to saute the veggies

Handful of fresh sage leaves to saute in butter for garnish

6-8 crimini mushrooms, sliced to saute in butter for garnish

Steam the butternut squash chunks until tender. Set aside. In a heavy bottomed pot, saute the Italian sausage until crumbly and browned. Remove and set aside. Saute the onion, celery and sun-dried tomatoes until the onions and celery are cooked. Add the wine and apple cider to deglaze the pot. Return the sausage to the pot, and add the squash chunks and the Dave’s Butternut Pasta Sauce. Adjust the salt and pepper to taste.

Simmer over very low heat, covered, for about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Saute the mushrooms in butter with the sage leaves. When both have browned nicely, plate the chili -with some of the brown rice - and top with the sage and mushrooms. Serve.

Serve with brown rice/garbanzo bean pilaf. Tossed arugula and citrus salad.

This can easily be made as a vegetarian dish - just omit the sausage.

Butternut squash pasta sauce

Ingredients

Use the other half of a larger Butternut Squash you’re using for the chili - cut into chunks and steamed till very tender. Mash the squash. Set aside.

1/2 sweet onion, finely minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup of roasted sweet red peppers

pinch nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground sage

pinch of celery seed

1/4 tsp thyme

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

2 tablespoons olive oil for saute

1/4 cup milk or half and half

1/2 cup or more low sodium chicken broth

Technique

Saute the sweet onion, with minced fresh garlic in the olive oil until the onion is translucent. Add the  ground sage, thyme, celery seed and nutmeg and saute for a couple minutes more. Add the mashed squash, roasted sweet peppers ( finely diced), light brown sugar, milk or half and half, low sodium chicken broth, salt and pepper to taste. With an immersion blender, puree until smooth and creamy. Adjust thickness with low sodium chicken broth.

-maven