Winter vegetables are the best - and when they are roasted, it really brings out their flavor. Roasted pumpkin, butternut squash, turnips, spaghetti squash, it's hard to decide where to start.
Here's a delicious recipe for roasted butternut squash with a hint of spice, balanced with leeks and goat cheese in a rich gratin. This is perfect for a main dish if you are vegetarian (with a crunchy side salad), or a clever new side dish for Sunday supper (give your green beans a break!).
Ingredients
1 butternut squash (about 3 lbs)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
salt and pepper
1.5 teaspoons of cumin
1 teaspoon of ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
2 leeks
2 tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup of hazelnuts
6 oz of goat cheese
1 1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream
Preparation
1. Peel, seed and dice the butternut squash into cubes. Heat the oven to 375.
2. Put the butternut squash in a large bowl. Combine with olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin, cayenne pepper and coriander. Mix until the squash is covered with the spices and oil.
3. Spread butternut squash cubes on a foil covered tray and roast in the oven for 40 - 45 minutes until fork tender.
4. While the squash is cooking, slice the leeks (white and light green parts).
5. In a sauté pan, heat butter over medium heat, add the leeks and sauté for 10 minutes.
6. Grease a baking dish with butter. Put the leeks on the bottom of the dish, and add roasted butternut squash. Slice rounds of goat cheese and scatter in the dish. Sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts. Pour the heavy cream over top. Place back in oven (still at 375).
7. Cook until bubbly and cheese is melting, for about 45 minutes. Serve immediately!
Today is the first day of October, the month celebrating the great pumpkin! Here's a recipe that uses pumpkin in a big way -- as the base for a vegetarian lasagna dish. This recipe calls for canned pumpkin, but if you're feeling particularly daring (and have extra time on your hands), you can roast a pie pumpkin and puree it for the base.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 pound of Swiss chard, stems removed, leaves washed well and chopped
1 cup of spinach (fresh or frozen)
2 teaspoons of salt
2 teaspoons of pepper
3 tablespoons of sage, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
3 15-oz cans of pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cup of shredded parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cup of heavy cream
1/2 cup of milk
12 lasagna noodles
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Boil water, cook lasagna noodles until al dente (about 8 minutes).
2. Heat a large pan over medium-high heat, add oil and onions, cooking onions until tender and translucent (about 8 minutes).
3. Add Swiss chard, spinach, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of pepper, 2 tablespoons of sage, and 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg to the pan. Cook, and stir regularly until greens wilt (about 8 minutes). Remove from heat.
4. In a medium bowl, mix two cans of pumpkin, 3/4 cup of heavy cream, 1/2 cup of shredded parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of pepper, 1 tablespoon of sage, and 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg.
5. Pour milk into a 9 x 13 pan.
6. Layer 4 noodles on top of the milk.
7. Spread half of the pumpkin mixture on top of the noodles.
8. Then layer half of the "greens" on top of pumpkin mix. Cover with another layer of noodles and repeat with pumpkin and greens. Layer a final set of noodles on top.
9. Combine 1 cup of pumpkin and 3/4 cup of cream.
10. Spread over top of lasagne noodles and sprinkle with remaining cup of parmesan cheese.
11. Cover pan with aluminium foil and cook for 20 minutes. Remove foil, and bake until cheese is melted and bubbly, about 15 minutes longer.
Traditional curries with coconut milk and spices are delicious, but I wanted to deviate from the norm and work in some of the vegetables in my garden. So, I'm going to share one of my go-to, 'not the standard' curry recpies that's made with a tomato and onion base.
This potato vegetable curry recipe is adapted from my 660 Curries cookbook and I think you'll find it to be quite tasty. The dish is hearty and filling so it's a great vegetarian main dish option, especially when scooped up with naan.
Ingredients
1 large tomato, cored and chopped
1 medium red onion, chopped
1/2 cup of fresh cilantro leaves
4 fresh green Thai or serrano chiles, stems removed
1/4 cup of water
3 small Yukon Gold potatoes
2 tablespoons of canola oil
3 small eggplants (or 1 large)
1 cup of fresh green beans
2 teaspoons of kosher salt
Preparation
1. Put chopped tomato, chopped onion, cilantro leaves, and chiles in a blender or food processor.
2. Blend the vegetables until pureed. Add 1/4 cup of water to loosen the sauce.
3. Dice the 3 potatoes. Heat the canola oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add the potatoes and cook until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes, while turning potatoes.
4. Add the sauce to the pan with potatoes and deglaze, scraping up brown bits of potatoes.
5. Cut the green beans into 3 segments and cut eggplant, removing stems, into wedges.
6. Add green beans and eggplant to the saucepan with salt. Bring to a boil and lower heat to medium low and cover. Cook for 25 to 30 minutes until vegetables are tender.
7. Remove from heat and serve with naan or over rice.
