Pasta with Butternut Squash

Few recipes that are this easy taste this good.



Ingredients

• 1/2lb cooked spaghetti
  
• 1lb butternut squash (a small butternut squash), peeled and cubed, (seeds removed)
  
• 1 medium yellow onions, peeled and bisected orthogonally. Or whatever.
  
• ~4oz ripe tomatoes, washed
  
• 3 stalks celery, washed
  
• olive oil
  
• water
  
• salt
  
• 1.5tsp dry rubbed sage
  
• black pepper
  
• parmesan cheese
  
• 5 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped (or else pancetta)
  

Place the squash, onion, tomatoes (whole, if you please), and celery in a casserole dish. Toss with olive oil, and place in a 350-400 degree oven until the squash is just tender, about 45 minutes at 350 or 30 minutes at 400 (maybe - check with a fork). While they're going, start water boiling for the pasta. When the vegetables are done, puree them in a food processor and taste, adding salt as needed. This recipe takes a lot of salt. Add the sage and about 1/2c water and continue to puree until mostly smooth. Meanwhile, make sure that the pasta is cooking. Pour the squash sauce into a pan and add some water until it's just a little liquidy. Set to high heat and cover, letting cook for 5 minutes or so while you drain the pasta. Then take the sauce off the heat (provided it's thick enough - otherwise just uncover and cook until it's done) and pour the pasta in, tossing to coat. Grate a lot of black pepper into it and sprinkle with parmesan (maybe as much as 1/2c?) and bacon / pancetta. Serve. Thoughts: WHY have we never done this before? This will probably become a go-to recipe. It's fairly healthy (lots of vegetables, not too much fat - I used "center cut" low fat bacon) and it's really good. Disaster Index: 1/10

Vegetarian Enchiladas

We've already done this once, but the recipe has changed so much since the first time we made it that it merits posting it again.

Ingredients

• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
  
• 2 zucchini/yellow squash, halved lengthwise and sliced thin
  
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
  
• 1 jalapeno pepper, skin charred and removed, seeds removed, chopped (see note)
  
• 1tbsp garlic
  
• neutral oil
  
• 1/2tsp cumin
  
• 2tbsp flour
  
• 1c chicken stock (or veg)
  
• 6oz pepper jack cheese, chopped or grated.
  
• tortillas
  
• 1 can enchilada sauce
  
• cilantro
  

Start by sauteing the onion in a little neutral oil over medium heat. Once it's getting toward translucent, add the zucchini, bell pepper, garlic, cumin, cilantro, and jalapeno. Cover for about 5 minutes, then remove lid and cook for another 5 minutes or so. When the zucchini are just tender (but still have a little tooth to them), take everything out and put it in a separate bowl. To the pot, add the flour and stir around. Add the chicken stock and turn the heat back on to medium-high, stirring to break up any huge lumps. Small lumps are okay. When the mixture is just starting to thicken, set to low heat and add 2-3oz of the cheese, stirring constantly. When all of the cheese is melted, re-add the vegetables and stir to coat.

Preheat oven to 350. In a baking dish, spread a thin layer of enchilada sauce. Then place tortillas in the dish, filling with the vegetables. This recipe makes two enormous burrito-sized servings or many more small servings, which would probably be more appropriate. Once all the filling is divvied up, fold the tortillas closed as best you can and pour enchilada sauce over everything, brushing even with a pastry brush. Sprinkle with the rest of the cheese and fresh cilantro. Bake for 30 minutes or until you can't take it any more.

Thoughts: Our recent addition of the jalapeno was a huge success. This is giving Casa De Lara a run for their money.

Disaster Index: 1/10

*note: to char the skin of a jalapeno pepper, just turn on a burner and hold the jalapeno over the burner with tongs until the skin is burnt on all sides. It takes a while. By burnt, I mean completely blackened. If you don't have a gas burner, put the jalapeno on a baking dish and put it in the oven with the broiler on. When one side is amply burnt, turn it over and do the other side. Run the jalapeno under cold water after burning the skin, then just rub with the edge of a knife. The skin will just flake/slide right off.

Creamed (?) patty pan squash

Ingredients

• 4 small/medium patty pan squashes
• 2 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp water
• 2 cloves garlic
• lots of pepper
• lots of basil
• moderate amount of salt
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1/2 cup sour cream
  
• Parmesan cheese, to garnish

Scrub the squashes. Using a box grater (or cuisinart, if you prefer), grate the squashes (using the largest holes on the grater). Set aside.
In a large pan with a tight-fitting lid, heat the butter, water, garlic, basil, salt, and pepper. When the butter is melted and the seasonings are incorporated, add the squash. Cook on high heat, covered, until the squash is tender, around 5 minutes. You might want to drain off any excess liquid after this (squashes are generally quite watery).
Meanwhile, mix the sour cream and flour together until the flour is incorporated. Add into the squash and keep on heat until thoroughly incorporated.
Remove from heat. Sprinkle with Parmesan.
We recommend that you serve this atop some crostini brushed with olive oil. It is delicious.

Thoughts: This dish could definitely have used more seasoning, though I'm not sure what I would add. With the seasonings we used, it tasted pretty much like pasta. You could essentially pretend that you were eating pasta. Maybe it was the Parmesan cheese on top. Maybe substitute the water for dry white wine/vermouth? Maybe add mushrooms? Dan also thinks we could replace the sour cream with yogurt, which is probably true. We'll give it a shot. It's a work in progress.

Disaster Index: 2/10

Sausage and Swiss Chard Lasagna

Ingredients

• 1 lb Italian sausage (casings removed), chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced or chopped or whatever
• 1 can tomatoes (14.5 oz) - we used "fire roasted," which worked really well
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 10-12 lasagna noodles
• 1 16-oz package of shredded mozzarella cheese
  
• 1 container ricotta cheese (1.75 cups)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp dried parsley
• 2 eggs
• 1-2 ozs chevre cheese (we used herb & garlic chevre)
• 1/4 fresh basil, shredded
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 (large) bunch swiss chard, bottom inch of stalks removed
  
• 1 yellow summer squash
• 6 oz frozen spinach

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Brown the sausage over medium-low heat until it's pretty cooked through. Add the garlic, tomatoes, dried basil, dried oregano, and 1.5 tsp salt. Simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. You can add some water to it if it gets too thick. Remove from heat.
Boil some pasta water in a large pot and cook the lasagna noodles in batches.
In the meantime, saute the onions over medium-high heat until almost translucent.
While you're sauteing the onions, prepare the Swiss chard. This is how you do it:
remove the stalks from the leaves and chop the stalks into smallish pieces. Chiffonade the leaves.
When the onions are almost translucent, add the stalks of the Swiss chard. Cover and cook for around 8 minutes, or until the stalks are tender, stirring occasionally. When tender, remove the onion/chard mix from the heat and set aside.
Take the chard leaves and add them to a smallish pot with the 6 oz. of frozen spinach (which you need to thaw ahead of time. Do it now if you haven't yet.). Cook the chard leaves and spinach, covered, over low heat. Add a few tablespoons of water to facilitate wilting. Cook for 5 minutes, or until wilted. Remove from heat and mix with the onion/chard mixture.
In a large bowl, mix ricotta, mozzarella, eggs, fresh basil, dried parsley, Parmesan, and some salt. Mix thoroughly. When the onion/chard/spinach mixture has cooled a little, add it into the cheese mixture and mix thoroughly.
Wash the summer squash and chop off the ends. Slice length-wise into sheets and grill until softened.
Now assemble the lasagna:
Coat the bottom of a glass lasagna with olive oil.
Put as many noodles as you'd like on the bottom. Put a layer of tomato/sausage mix on the noodles. Then add a layer of yellow squash. Then add a layer of the cheese/vegetable mixture. Then more noodles, then more tomato sauce, then more squash, then more cheese/vegetables, and then a final layer of noodles. On top of that we drizzled some olive oil and then the chevre.
Put in the oven and cook for 30-40 minutes.

Thoughts: Delicious. We based this loosely on a recipe we found online, and then added all sorts of stuff (swiss chard, spinach, yellow squash, chevre, onions, fresh basil). The flavor was fantastic. Maybe it was the sausage, maybe it was the swiss chard, maybe it was the yellow squash, but either way, it was fantastic. We didn't have as much tomato sauce as I would have liked, so we didn't get to put a layer of tomato sauce on top of the whole concoction. So next time I would have added another can of tomatos or something. I don't know. Fantastic.

Disaster Index:1/10

Black Bean Chili with Butternut Squash

From an Epicurious recipe, slightly edited.

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, chopped
  
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or crushed
  
• 1 small butternut squash, peeled and cubed
  
• 3 15oz cans of black beans (rinsed)
  
• 2.5c vegetable broth
  
• 1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes
  
• 3 cups chopped Napa cabbage
  
• salt, pepper, oregano, cayenne, cumin, garlic powder (if you want more garlic)
  

Sautee the onion in some olive oil with the garlic cloves. When the onion is transparent, add the squash and the other seasonings (except salt - vegetable broth tends to be pretty salty, so don't add salt until the end or else it might be too salty). Let it cook for a few minutes, and then add everything except the cabbage. Bring it to a boil covered, stirring occasionally (not much stirring needed, really) and then reduce it to a simmer and leave uncovered until the squash is just tender. Throw in the cabbage and let it cook for another couple minutes, until the cabbage is tender. Serve with slices of cheddar, yogurt, and, yes, sriracha.

Thoughts: This was an odd recipe, but surprisingly good. I would definitely do it again. The original recipe calls for Swiss chard, and if you can get your hands on it it's probably better. But Emily's idea for the substitution worked very well. Surprisingly well. Next time I make it I may still use Napa, in fact. Also next time, some sriracha straight in the soup might be nice to kick up the spice a bit, but I guess everyone has their own tolerance levels, right?

Disaster Index: 1/10

Pasta with Squash and Mushroom Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/2 red onion, chopped finely
• 2 cups cremini mushrooms, slices
  
• 1 small yellow squash, or 1/2 large yellow squash
• 1.5 cups chicken stock (or veg)
  
• 2 tbp dried parsley flakes
• 1 tbp Italian seasoning (or herbes de provence)
• 1 leek, thinly sliced
• 1 lb pasta (we used wavy egg noodles)
• 1 tbp butter
• a little olive oil (2 tbp?)
• 1/4 cup vermouth, to de-glaze pan

Start pasta water.
Chop the red onion, slice the leeks, and put them in a pan with some olive oil and the butter. Carmelize. De-glaze the pan with the vermouth, and add the chopped yellow squash and slices mushrooms.
Water should be boiling. Add pasta if it is.
Add parsley and Italian seasoning. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until the mushrooms and squash start to release their juices.
Add stock. Cook until stock is reduced, about 10 minutes.
The pasta should be done. Drain it and add to the sauce. Mix well.
Garnish with Romano or Parmesan or similar cheese.
Devour.

Thoughts: Awesome recipe. Dan recommends using pasta water to mix the stock (if you use powdered stock. This won't work if you use liquid stock) because then the stock will be thicker. I have no recommendations. This was totally awesome. Dan also thinks you could add a splash of lemon juice somewhere in there. The sauce is really low-cal and full of vegetables, so this dish is really good for you.

Disaster Index: 1/10

Acorn Squash Ravioli

Ingredients

• 1 acorn squash
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 small onion, chopped
• salt
• pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp rosemary
• 1/8 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 package wonton wrappers
  

Preheat oven to 375. Cut acorn squash in half, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Bake in oven for 25-35 minutes, or until squash is soft.
In the meantime, sautee garlic and onion until onion is translucent. Set aside.
Once squash is done, take it out of the oven and let it cool for several minutes before attempting to carve out the squash. If you don't wait, you will burn your fingers. Trust me.
Combine scooped-out squash, ricotta cheese, and onion mixture in a food processor with the nutmeg, rosemary, and breadcrumbs. Pulse until smooth.
Boil a pot of salted water. Place 1/2 tbs of the squash mixture in the center of the wonton wrapper. Dip your fingers in water and moisten the edges of the wonton. Fold it over into a triangle and press the edges of the wonton together. If you want to be all fancy, you can use a fork to crimp the edges of the wonton to ensure that stuff won't come out of it while cooking.
Place all the completed wontons in the boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Stir every once and a while to ensure that the wontons aren't sticking together.
Using a slotted spoon, remove the wontons.
Garnish with parmesan/romano, pesto, olive oil, or whatever you want. These are delicious.

Thoughts: When removing the wontons from the water, try placing them on a plate that has been sprayed with a little bit of cooking spray. I would also recommend spraying each successive layer of raviolis with cooking spray so that the layers don't stick together. Because they will. And then they'll tear when you try to take them apart.
You could also use butternut squash for this recipe.

Disaster Index: 1/10 OMG

Winter Squash Dip

This is adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe. Hers is probably better.

Ingredients

• 1 lb winter squash (we used 1/2 of a butternut), seeded and cut into 3-inch pieces
• 2 tbs chopped garlic
• 8 scallions, white and pale green parts only, sliced thinly
• 1 cup non-fat yogurt (though you could use full fat and you won't die or anything)
• 1/2 container low-fat cream cheese (see above)
• 1/2 cup grated Romano
  
• paprika
• olive oil (extra virgin)
• (brown sugar)
  

The original recipe calls for chipotle chiles, which would have been good, I think. But this still turned out pretty awesome.

Anyways, preheat the oven to 400. Put the squash pieces in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Also sprinkle with copious amounts of salt and pepper. Add the garlic. Toss. Spread on baking sheet. You can pam the baking sheet first, if you're worried about stickage.
Bake the squash until it is juicy and soft. This will be about 50 minutes. Take the squash out and let it cool.
In the meantime, cook the scallion pieces in olive oil until they're soft (4 minutes).
Once the squash has cooled to a temperature that will not burn your hands, scrape the flesh from the rind and put it in a food processor. Add scallions. Pulse until smooth.
Add yogurt, cream cheese, and Romano. Pulse until combined.
Taste. It may require brown sugar. Put some in (1/8 cup?)
Refrigerate for an hour. Eat it.

Thoughts: Again, this could have benefited from the Chipotles. Otherwise it was pretty good. I recommend eating it with crackers such as Wheat Thins or Kashi TLCs. It is also delicious with red peppers. And pretty good on sandwiches.

Disaster Index: 3-4/10