How do I modify this recipe to make the butternut squash softer?

[Spinzy]

I tried a recipe for sausage, squash and cannelloni bean casserole. The taste was lovely but the squash was very hard. I tried cutting it into very small pieces but it was still quite hard. I’m not a very good cook so am worried about increasing the cooking time and drying it all out/burning it.

The method is to fry the sausages until browned, then add butternut squash and red onion for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to the boil, then transfer to a roasting tin and bake for 15-20 minutes until the squash is tender. It was nowhere near tender after 20 minutes and I think I’d have to cook it for much longer.

What could I try?

Microwave it first to soften it

So still chop it up and then put in microwave? How long do you think it would need? Thanks for the idea, feel a bit silly for not thinking of it

Roast it in chunks first, possibly with a bit of cumin (if you are my husband).

You could par-boil the squash for 5 to 10 minutes before adding it.

I’d fry the sausages until browned and remove them from the pan. Then add the squash and fry it gently until getting soft, and then add the onions (and put the sausages back) and proceed as the recipe says. See if that helps. Basically what the PP said - cooking the squash separately to give it extra cooking time.

Thanks for all of the tips! I’ll give them a go and see what works best. Is roasting just putting in the oven with a bit of oil? And I assume par boiling means boiling in a pan the way you would with potatoes to make mash but taking out before they get too soft?

Yes to both of your question. With parboiling, you need to keep the shape.

I grill butternut squash first in it’s skin before adding it to any dish. It gives it a really deep flavour and is softer. Another option is to cut it into smaller cubes.

The other thing you could do is replace the squash with sweet potato, which cooks much more quickly and has a similar taste