A hearty meal to welcome fall. Delicata is a tender, quick-cooking squash whose skin can be eaten making meal prep and cooking time less than other squashes. If you cook the squash and barley at the same time, this meal can be cooked and served in about 30 minutes.

Nutrition Disclaimer: Sausages are processed meats and are best eaten in moderation (no more than once/week). Enjoy them as part of a balanced and nutritious meal. This meal is balanced with nutrient dense kale, squash, and barley.

Enjoy!

Chicken Sausage, Kale & Delicata Squash over Barley Risotto

Serves 4

What You Need

BARLEY

1/2 Tablespoon canola or coconut oil

1/2 cup onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, diced

1 cup pearled barley

4.5 cups of chicken or vegetable stock (ready to use or base mixed with water)

1 tsp dried thyme

1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup grated parmesan or asiago cheese

SQUASH

1 delicata squash, sliced into 1 inch thick rounds, seeds removed (to save time, you could also cut in half lengthwise, remove seeds, then cut into half-moon shapes)

2 TBS canola oil or coconut oil

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/8-1/4 teaspoon curry powder

SAUSAGE & KALE

1 package of sausages

3-4 cups kale, washed and chopped

What to Do

1) Preheat oven to 375 and line a baking sheet with parchment or foil. Bring stock to a boil on stove over medium heat.

2)Prep your squash and place into large bowl. Toss with oil, salt and curry to coat all pieces. Place squash on baking sheet and roast in oven at 375 for about 25 minutes.

3)While squash is cooking, prepare barley. Place 1/2 TBS oil into large/deep saute pan. Once oil is hot, saute garlic, onion and thyme until onions become translucent.

4)Add barley into pan and stir to coat each grain with oil, about 1 minute. Add 1 cup stock and stir. Cover pan and allow barley to absorb liquid. Once absorbed, add more stock, stir and cover. Repeat until all stock is used or barley is tender. Be sure to stir occasionally so that barley doesn’t stick to pan.

5)In between stock-adding sessions, start cooking the sausages on a pan over medium heat. Cook 5 minutes per side. If you have a meat thermometer, check to see that the internal temp has reached 165 degrees. Remove from heat and let rest.

6)Add kale and 1/4 cup water to same pan the sausage was in. Sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt and stir until it starts to cook down. 7)While kale is cooking, slice sausages into 1/2 inch rounds.

7)While kale is cooking, slice sausages into 1/2 inch rounds and add to kale in pan. Cook until kale is tender, no more than 5 minutes.

8)When barley is finished cooking, add parmesan cheese and stir to combine.

Time to Eat!