Easy Strudel with Butternut Squash and Sausage

At this time of the year, the markets are packed with all kinds of squash:  butternut squash, spaghetti squash, acorn squash, and many more.  With Thanksgiving coming up, you could serve today’s recipe as an easy appetizer before the main attraction.  A delicious strudel with a butternut squash and sausage filling wrapped up in crispy filo dough makes a comforting and satisfying fall dish.

Butternut squash is a humble yet versatile ingredient:  we roast it, we make soups out of it, or, we fold it into a creamy risotto.  Making a savory strudel seems complicated, but it is really easy, especially if you do not need to make the dough.  For my strudels, sweet or savory, I often use puff pastry or, for a slightly lighter version, I use filo dough, as is the case in this recipe.

The ingredients

Making a strudel is a great way to use what is in season and, at the same time, add small quantities of ingredients that you might have in your refrigerator and need to use up!  Sweet roasted butternut squash pairs so well in this recipe with salty sausage and crispy sage, and a handful of one of my favorite cheeses, Asiago.

How to make this Easy Strudel with Butternut Squash and Sausage

1. Cut the butternut squash into small cubes and roast in a hot oven

2. Cook the Italian sausage and add the shallots and sage

3. Mix the cooked sausage with the squash, add the cheese and place on stack of filo pastry

4. Roll up the layers of filo to enclose the filling

5.  Score the filo strudel and sprinkle with sesame seeds

Your filo strudel is ready to bake.  In about 30 minutes, it is ready!  How easy is that?

Ingredient Substitutes

You could use, of course, any type of squash for this recipe.  You could also use a sweet potato instead of the squash.  If you prefer a spicier filling, use the spicy Italian sausage instead of the sweet or mild sausage.  If you do not have sausage, you could substitute it with bacon.  Finally, instead of Asiago cheese, you could use any semi-hard cheese you might have in the refrigerator; even a sharp cheddar would go well in this recipe.

Make ahead

You can make this easy strudel in advance:  cool and refrigerate it and then just reheat it in a hot oven for a few minutes.  Besides serving it as an appetizer, you can also serve it as a midweek lunch along a fresh green salad.  Hearty and very satisfying!

Easy Strudel with Butternut Squash and Sausage

 

Save Print

Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

1 hour

 

A very satisfying appetizer with sweet butternut squash, salty sausage and Asiago cheese, all wrapped into crispy filo pastry.

Author: Marilena Leavitt

Recipe type: Appetizer, light lunch

Serves: 2 strudels

Ingredients

• 1 lb. butternut squash, peeled and chopped into small cubes
• 2 TBSP. extra virgin olive oil
• ½ tsp. sea salt
• ¼ tsp. freshly ground pepper
• 8 oz. sweet Italian sausage, without the casing, crumbled
• 2 med. shallots (or 1 red onion), diced
• 1 TBSP. fresh sage, minced (about 8 leaves)
• 3-4 oz. Asiago cheese, cut into small cubes
• 1 lb. filo pastry, at room temperature
• (I used Fillo Factory, organic filo)
• --- extra virgin olive oil for brushing on the filo
• --- Sesame seeds, for topping (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
2. Cut the butternut squash into small cubes (about ¼”). Toss the cubed squash in a small bowl with the olive oil, ½ teaspoon of salt, and some freshly ground pepper to coat.
3. Spread the squash over a large, ungreased baking sheet and roast for about 25 minutes, or, until the edges are slightly caramelized.
4. While the squash is roasting, place the loose sausage in a heavy skillet on the stove over medium heat (no need to add oil to the skillet as the sausage should render some amount of fat while cooking. If your sausage is on the lean side, however, you will need to add some olive oil to keep it from sticking to the skillet.). Pan fry until lightly browned and cooked through, stirring often. Add the minced shallots and the fresh sage and cook for a few more minutes until the shallots soften and are caramelized.
5. Remove the butternut squash from the oven and let it cool slightly.
6. Gently add the cooked sausage to the squash. Taste the mixture and adjust the seasoning to your liking. Gently blend in the cubed cheese. Set aside.
7. Reduce the oven heat to 375°F.
8. Place one sheet of filo on your work surface and brush it with some olive oil. Top it with a second filo sheet, brush with some more olive oil, and repeat the process with a third, a fourth and a fifth sheet of filo. Spoon half of the filling along one long side of the filo, about one inch from the edge. Fold the short ends over. Then, starting at the long side closest to the filling, roll up the filo tightly. Place the rolled filo, seam-side down, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush it with some more olive oil. Using a long sharp knife, score the top of the strudel through the filo, making ten to twelve evenly spaced cuts. Repeat with a second set of five filo sheets and the other half of the filling. Sprinkle the filo with some sesame seeds and place it on the middle rack in the oven.
9. Bake the strudel until lightly brown, about 25-30 minutes.
10. Let the strudel cool slightly. Using a serrated knife cut the strudel at the score marks and serve.

Notes

You can wrap the second strudel and freeze for another time. When the time comes to bake it, there is no need to defrost. You will need to add a couple more minutes to your cooking time.

3.5.3240

This recipe is a collaboration with the Fillo Factory, a company that makes great quality filo pastry and puff pastry, among many other products.

If you have left over butternut squash, you can use it to make this favorite fall recipe:

Roasted butternut squash soup

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