Calabacita o Bangaña Guisada [Video+Recipe] Bottle Gourd with Sausage

Ingredients

• 1 pound cooked longaniza ((pork sausage) [0.45 kg], sliced)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (or olive oil)
• 1 medium red onion (diced)
• 4 cloves garlic (crushed)
• 1 bell pepper (chopped)
• 2 calabacitas (bottle gourd)
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano (dry, ground)
• 1 teaspoon salt ((or more, to taste))
• 4 tablespoons minced parsley

Instructions

1. 1

   --- 1. Peeling ---

2. 2

   Peel the gourds with a potato peeler and dice.

3. 3

   --- 2. Browning the longaniza ---

4. 4

   Browning: Heat the oil over medium heat.Add the longaniza and cook, stirring until it browns.

5. 5

   --- 3. Cooking vegetables ---

6. 6

   Cooking: Once the longaniza is browned, lower heat to medium. Stir in onion, garlic, and bell pepper. Cook stirring for 30 seconds. Add the diced gourd and cook stirring for another 30 seconds, lower heat if it looks like it might burn. Season with pepper, and oregano and tomato sauce and stir.

7. 7

   --- 4. Simmering ---

8. 8

   Simmering: Lower heat and simmer covered until the gourd is cooked through, stirring often to cook uniformly (soft, but not too mushy, it takes around 15-20 minutes). Once the gourd is fork tender, season with salt to taste and stir in the parsley. Remove from the heat.

9. 9

   --- 5. Serving ---

10. 10

    Serving: Remove from the heat and serve.Find serving suggestions further above.