Savory Baked Apples with Sausage, Squash, and Onions
Updated Jun 26, 2018, Published May 07, 2013
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Ingredients
- 4 large apples, preferably organic (such as Fuji)
- 1 lemon, halved
- 3 pounds sweet Italian sausage, crumbled (omit for a vegan version and instead double or triple your vegetables and seasonings)
- 2 yellow onions, finely diced
- 1 acorn squash, halved, seeded, peeled, and finely diced into ¼-inch pieces.
- ½ cup fresh herbs (such as thyme, basil, oregano, or sweet marjoram),finely chopped
- 1 cup chopped leafy greens(such as Swiss chard,collards, or kale )
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- ½ teaspoon cracked fresh pepper
- ½ cup apple juice,preferably organic.
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Cut the apples in half. Using a spoon, carefully scoop out the center cores and discard. Scoop out the flesh from inside the apple skins, leaving a ¼-inch shell around the edges to keep their shape. Reserve the apple flesh. Rub the edges of the apple shells with the halved lemon to prevent too much browning.
- Finely dice the reserved apple flesh. Toss with about 2 teaspoons of lemon juice to prevent too much browning. Set aside.
- Sauté the sausage over medium heat until it begins to brown, about 3 – 5 minutes. Add in the diced onion and squash pieces and cook for 3 – 5 minutes more. Remove half of the mixture from the pan and reserve it for the soup recipe for the following night.
- Add the diced apples and herbs to the remaining sausage mixture in the pan and cook for 1 minute longer. Remove the pan from heat and add in the greens, salt, and pepper.
- Place the prepared apple halves in an 8×8-inch baking dish. Fill each apple with about ¼ cup of the sausage mixture. Pour the apple juice into the dish around the apples. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Garnish with additional fresh herbs if desired.
Servings
Serves 4-6.
