Tag: butternut squash

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curried butternut squash over farro

I don’t believe in diets. I think diets ruin food for you and for everyone you eat with. Instead I prefer to live by Julia Child’s philosophy—everything in moderation, including moderation. Life is just too short, and you only get one of ’em. But, I do believe that your body will tell you what it needs if you take the time to listen. After an epic weekend of eating with Jordan’s family (pizza at Pizzeria Delfina, followed up by cocktails at Hard Water, followed up by House of Prime Rib, topped off with brunch at Nopa), my body was screaming for some vegetables.

I love vegetables, and though it might be blasphemous to say so seeing as some folks around here consider bacon a food group, vegetables are probably the only food I could tolerate eating weeks on end. We have salad (or slaw or sautéed greens) with dinner every night, but salad as a meal just doesn’t cut it when you bike upwards of 20 miles a day like Jordan does. Plus, when you write a blog called The Answer is Always Pork, you can’t get away with hawking sissy vegetarian food. This dish is my compromise between the need to detox and the need to fuel my handsome nerdlover’s brain and body.

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So here we have a salad that does not mess around. Curry powder takes butternut squash to a wonderful warm and spicy place. Farro is one of the best grains out there—it blows quinoa out of the water; nutty and chewy, you don’t miss meat. Top it all with a lemony-yogurt sauce that adds just the right amount of brightness and you’ve got yourself a wining dinner.

It’s also all kinds of flexible. Instead of butternut, you could use whatever squash you’ve got lying around. Or heck, roast up some carrots or parsnips or celeriac. You can serve it hot, serve it at room temperature, serve it cold. Anything goes. This salad is your oyster. Now doesn’t my detox sound like fun?

Curried Butternut Squash & Farro with Lemon-Yogurt Sauce

For the squash
1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 teaspoon – 1 tablespoon Indian curry powder (depending on how hot and fresh your curry is)
1 tablespoon olive oilFor the yogurt sauce
1/2 cup greek yogurt
1/2 lemon juiced
salt and pepper

1 cup farro (I like Trader Joe’s Quick Cook Farro – it cooks in 10 minutes and has great texture)
cilantro, for serving

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Preheat your oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Peel and cut your butternut squash into cubes. Toss with some olive oil, salt and curry powder and spread evenly on a baking sheet. I’d taste your curry powder—mine was very mild and I needed to use quite a bit to actually taste it when it was put up against the flavor of the squash. You can taste a piece of squash part of the way through cooking and if it is too mild, sprinkle on some more curry. You want this squash to pack a punch. Bake 30 – 40 minutes, until the squash is tender.

Meanwhile, mix the yogurt with lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.  While the squash is baking, bring a pot of salted water to boil. Cook the farro according to the package directions, drain and toss with a little olive oil.

To serve, mound some farro up on a plate. Scoop on a healthy helping of squash and top with the lemon yogurt. Or throw it all in a tupperware and eat it like a heathen with your hands in the park because you forgot a fork. Either way, enjoy!

-Emily

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katie’s leek and butternut squash risotto

The thing that I love most about food is that certain dishes can be so tied to a place, to a moment, to a particular understanding of yourself, that when you taste those dishes again all of those memories come flooding back and you’re transported, regardless of how much or little time has passed. In my humble opinion, this is the one of the best reasons to record and share recipes.

Like my Nonnie’s pecan shortbread cookies, my mother’s red beans and rice, and Jordan’s steak au poivre, this risotto holds a special place in my heart. My friend Katie made it for my going away dinner before I left D.C. for Buenos Aires and again during our last year of college for an intimate dinner with a few friends. It is beautiful, seasonal and has just enough going on to keep your attention. Most of all, it is comforting and absolutely delicious. I’m thankful she gave me the recipe, along with several others from her repertoire.

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Leek and Butternut Squash Risotto, from Katie Norton
1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
4 tablespoons olive oil
6 cups chicken stock
3 large leeks, white and light green parts only, sliced thinly, about 3 cups
2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup parmesan, grated
2 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped finely
salt and pepper

One year ago: Braised Short Ribs
Two years ago: Alice’s Cauliflower Soup

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Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Toss the squash with 2 tablespoons olive oil and salt and pepper. Spread in an even layer on a baking sheet and roast until tender, about 40 minutes. You can roast the squash in advance, or do it while you’re babysitting the risotto.

Bring the stock to a simmer in a large saucepan. Reduce heat to low, cover and keep warm.

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In a large, heavy saucepan or dutch oven, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the leeks and saute until soft, but not brown. Add the rice and stir until the outside of the kernels becomes translucent, but the inside is still white. Add the wine and simmer until absorbed, stirring constantly.

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Add the stock, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until it is absorbed. Continue to add stock by the 1/2 cupful until the rice is tender and the mixture has thickened, stirring frequently with each addition. Once tender and creamy, add the squash, cream, parmesan and sage. Season with salt and pepper and enjoy warm!

-Emily

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butternut squash soup with fresh ginger

Despite San Francisco’s sunny, 70 degree days—70 degrees in late October is so worth sky-high rent—it is officially fall and high time to bust out the squash dishes. Butternut squash is cheap, delicious and versatile. You can make soup, roast it, throw it in risotto, on a pizza, in pasta … endless possibilities. This recipe will make enough soup for lunch the next day or to freeze for the next time you don’t feel like cooking.

Butternut Squash Soup with Fresh Ginger
1 medium butternut squash, cubed
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 quart vegetable stock or water
2 t fresh ginger, grated
olive oil, salt, pepper, chili flake

The hardest part of cooking squash is peeling the dang thing. Here is my technique for cubing a butternut squash. Cut the squash into two pieces separating the round part from the neck. Standing the neck up in a cylindrical sort of way, cut off the peel. For the bulbous portion, cut it in half and scoop out the seeds. Peel off the skin like you would a melon. Cut into rough cubes.

Sauté the onion in a bit of olive oil until translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for another few minutes. Add the cubed squash and stock or water. Boil the soup partially covered for 30 – 40 minutes, until the squash is fork tender. Once the squash is tender, puree it with an immersion blender or in a standard blender. Add the grated ginger and season with salt and pepper. I served it topped with a little creme fraiche and chives.

Happy fall!

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Recipes San Francisco

fall dinner for four

Last night, my sister and my cousin joined us for dinner. It was another rainy day and I’d decided soup seemed to be the perfect cozy fit. Jordan was so sweet and did all the work for this delicious meal while I gabbed with the girls.

Butternut Squash Soup with Ginger and Garlic
Butternut squash, about 3 pounds, cut into large chunks
Small onion, cut into large chunks
2 carrots, cut into large chunks
6 cloves of garlic
4 cups vegetable stock
1 t ginger, pealed and grated

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss squash, onion, carrot and garlic with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes to an hour.

Put roasted veggies in a large pot or dutch oven. Add 3 cups of stock and ginger. Simmer, covered for 20 – 30 minutes. Puree in a food processor or blender. Simmer for another 15 minutes. Season once again and serve with crusty bread and a salad.

Jordan did a beautiful job emulsifying the vinaigrette for our spinach and arugula salad. He’s such a pro!

Conclusions: Positively fall! This soup is so hearty it makes a perfectly substantial meal all on its own. The crusty caraway bread from Tartine Bakery and acidic spinach and arugula salad were perfect accompaniments. Hurray for fall and the start of squash season!

-Emily