I. Love. Fall.
This is, without question, my favorite time of year (weather-wise, anyway). The leaves are turning those beautiful shades of color that I imagine painting my kitchen with someday... the chill in the air tugs gently at the hoodie or light jacket you have on... Starbucks has once again brought out the Pumpkin Spice Latte... butternut squash is back in season and available in abundance at any grocery store, co-op or farmers' market...
*happy sigh*
... so, today we're going to make the most of our squashy friend; let's name him Butters. With Butters' help, we'll make some tasty burritos, a warm quinoa (or rice) salad, and a cheesy, delicious casserole. But first, let's get to know Butters a little.
Butters is a butternut, a member of the winter squash family (his brothers and sisters include acorn, carnival, spaghetti, and his fraternal twin Buttercup). He's got cousins on the cucumber side and the melon side... but they come out more in summer, and Butters is a fall-and-winter type dude. He likes to be in soups that warm the kids up after a day playing in the leaves; he likes to be in yummy, rich, cheesy, spicy dishes that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. He likes to be put out with festive decor all around him, maybe even served with the special China dishes. Oh boy!
Butters is my favorite of the winter squashes, for several reasons:
Reason #1: he's not too sweet. He's good in sweet or savory dishes; my favorite being him just baked and then pureed with a boatload of olive oil (and/or some butter) and some nice sea salt and ground sage. OH! and fresh grated nutmeg. Whenever Butters lays eyes on Nutmeg, he gets all squishy inside. There's no use trying to keep them apart, I've told his mamma; those two were made for each other.
Reason #2 why I love Butters: he's full of awesome vitamins and phytonutrients. Vitamin A is a powerful antioxidant and important for growth, eye health, and a few other pretty important body processes. It's available in animal foods as retinol and plant foods as beta carotene... and Butters has lots of beta carotene (this is especially good if you're a vegan and therefore don't get vitamin A from animal foods such as eggs). He's also super good for vitamin E as well as the B's, and he's got a good bit of calcium, potassium and the definitely-important magnesium and manganese.
Reason #3: He goes with some of my favorite things, namely: SPINACH, broccoli, cheese, quinoa, olive oil, nutmeg (as previously mentioned, but I just had to say it again)... and roasting. He's sooo tasty when roasted in the oven, sprinkled with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Mmmmm.
Okay, so now that we're a little bit acquainted with Butters and all of his charms, let's go cook him up! (Sorry if that idea is a little disturbing now that we've gone and personified him... I mean it!)
First dish we're going to make is a yummy squash and black bean burrito, adapted from poorgirleatswell.com (another awesome blog! Yayyy!)
Ingredients:
4-6 whole grain tortillas, 8-10 inch (unless you want to do mini burritos for the kids; cute and yummy!)
1 nice, big butternut squash (2-ish lbs), washed and cut in half lengthwise (remove the seeds with an ice cream scoop or other scoopish object... or just a spoon)
1 big can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 small-medium yellow onion, chopped
1 or 2 big cloves garlic, minced
evoo
salt and pepper
ground cumin
fresh grated nutmeg is you have it
burrito toppings (cheddar cheese, sour cream, salsa, sliced olives... go nuts!)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Place the halved squash open side down in a glass baking dish with a little bit of water and a pinch of salt, and roast for 45 minutes to an hour, until squash is soft enough to mash with a fork or puree in a blender or food processor. (If you wanted to, you could also just peel and cut the squash into cubes and roast it that way, then skip the pureeing step. Up to you.)
While it's roasting, prep your beans. Heat a skillet over medium, add some olive oil and the garlic and onion. Saute these together for about 7-10 minutes, until onion is translucent and the mixture is fragrant... mmmmm... season with salt and pepper, then add the rinsed and drained beans and the cumin and some of the nutmeg (it's pretty strong stuff; just a pinch'll do ya!). Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the beans are warmed through and everything is mixed evenly.
Warm up the tortillas in a warmer (if you're lucky enough to have one!) or the microwave, wrapped in a damp paper towel to make them moist and flexible. Alternatively, throw them in a hot cast iron skillet for a few seconds on each side. Fill them with the beany and squashy goodnesses, top with the aforementioned goodies, wrap 'em up and enjoy! You could also do these quesadilla style and grill them. Mmmmmmm... yumtastic.
Cheesy Squash Casserole
Ingredients:
A nice, big squash (try about 2 lbs or so, like for the burritos)
1 cup polenta
1-2 Tbsp butter
a pinch salt
water or broth (I haven't quite figured out the perfect polenta-to-water ratio, so start with 3 cups plus the butter and salt and slowly add the polenta, whisking constantly)
1 lb frozen spinach, nuked
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium shallot, minced
ground sage and fresh nutmeg
olive oil
shredded cheddar or Gruyere cheese (lots of it!)
Start by roasting and pureeing the squash like we did for the burritos. Start heating the water for the polenta, and when it's come to a boil, reduce the heat and add the butter, salt and polenta. Stir constantly until it thickens, then remove from heat.
Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet. Saute garlic and shallot for about 5 minutes, then add spinach. Season with salt and pepper and saute for another 5 minutes.
If you turned off the oven, turn it back on now; set it at 350.
Spray a 9x13" baking dish with canola cooking spray; spread the polenta in an even layer on the bottom of the pan. Layer the spinach over it, then spread the squash puree on the top, finishing with a generous layer of cheese and some nutmeg.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly. Let cool for 5 minutes, then cut into squares and eat!
On that note, I think two recipes is sufficient for one post. I'll share the salad recipe with you all next time. Say goodnight to Butters.
Ciao!
