It is essential to roast the squash and mushrooms before combining them with the stuffing ingredients. Both those vegetables are very watery and roasting them off helps dry them up so your stuffing doesn't turn out soggy. To save on time, feel free to roast them the night before and cool in the fridge. I think this works best as a side dish for the turkey. I do not recommend using this to stuff the bird.
Ingredients
1 butternut squash, peeled, cored and cut into a fine dice (approx 5mm x 5mm)
24 cremini mushrooms, washed and quartered
3 tbsp of butter, divided. 2 tbsp melted and 1 tbsp at room temp*
Coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 Italian sausages
1 large onion, diced
4 stalks of celery, diced
A handful of celery leaves, finely chopped
2 large carrots, diced
2 apples, peeled and diced
Olive oil
1 tsp fresh sage, chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
1 150g bag of roasted peeled chestnuts, halved.
¼ cup chicken stock
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Place the diced butternut squash on a baking sheet in a single layer. Drizzle with the melted butter and season with salt and pepper. Roast until golden, about 40 minutes.
Place the quartered mushrooms on a baking sheet in a single layer, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place in the oven and roast until browned, 20 minutes.
Remove the mushrooms and squash and set aside to cool.
Place a large skillet on a medium high heat. Squeeze the sausage out of the casing and into the pan breaking it up. Brown the crumbled sausage fully, approximately 15 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.