Sausage and apple stuffed acorn squash

Preheat the oven to 200 °C conventional heat. Choose edible squash of about 800 g gross each, wash, trim very little from both ends to steady them, then halve and remove seeds and fibres. Coat the flesh and cavities with 20 ml oil, 4 g salt and 0.5 g pepper. Set cut-side down on parchment-lined 30 × 40 cm trays without crowding. Roast for about 40 min, swapping tray positions halfway, until fork-tender but the shells still hold their shape. Extend according to size.

During roasting, peel the onion. Wash and core the apples, leaving the skin on. During roasting, chop the onion, dice the apples into 1 cm pieces and grate the Parmesan. Cook the sausage meat in a frying pan for about 7 min, crumbling it, until fully cooked to 75 °C for 30 s. Remove with a slotted spoon and discard excess free fat. Add the remaining 10 ml oil and cook onion for 3 min. Add apples for 3 min until softened. Return the meat, add all the sage, remaining 2 g salt and 0.5 g pepper, all the panko and 60 g Parmesan. Stir until the cheese melts.

Carefully turn the hot squash cavity-side up and fill. If some filling will not fit, put it in a small oven dish and serve it too, divided among all portions. Top the filling with the remaining 40 g Parmesan. Bake for about 15 min until the cheese melts and the filling is hot, then rest for 5 min.