Category: Vegetables

Trendy vegetables such as winter squash and the more exotic roots were relatively uncommon on the folks’ farm. Daddy grew immense amounts of summer squash-zucchini, yellow and patty pan; of course it takes only one summer squash plant to result in mammoth amounts of squash. Somehow they miraculously grow as big as your head overnight! And potatoes, onions and carrots aplenty were stored in the “basement,” which was actually more of an underground root cellar. But butternut? Acorn? Kabocha, for heaven’s sake? Rutabaga? Japanese turnips?

Not so much.

Both acorn squash and parsnips were available at the local grocery store, and Mom did occasionally sneak one of these unique characters into the meal rotation. She would split the acorns in half and fill the center wells with butter, brown sugar and warm spices. The parsnips baked in butter, with just a sprinkle of sugar. Butter, butter-Mom loved her butter with a passion. While my dad very seldom had anything but praise for what Mom put on the table, I suspect that these vegetables were perhaps not his favorites, even with the butter. Once, Mom tried to pass rutabaga off as “celeriac,” to which my dad responded, “They taste like turnips.” He did not swallow either Mom’s fib or the rutabaga…

Today, farmer’s markets, CSAs, and even the grocery store are awash with a great variety of root veg and winter squash. But familiar old butternut is my customary go-to. While it is a so-called starchy vegetable, it has half the carbs and calories of a potato, and seems a relatively healthy candidate for the portion of the plate I devote to carbs. It’s fairly bland on its own, and responds well to seasoning. I usually follow Mom’s lead by peeling, cubing and roasting with olive oil, brown sugar, warm spices, and a touch of cayenne.  (Sorry Mom, not using butter.)

But wait-cayenne? Yes, the sweet needs that little hit of heat to balance the flavor. Along with that heat, add the smokiness of chipotle chili and the salty creaminess of feta cheese. Chipotle chilies are nothing more than smoked jalapeno peppers. I purchase them in cute little cans, the peppers submerged in adobo sauce. I use them whenever I want a hit of smoke without too much heat. The richness provided by the feta is the perfect foil, balancing the flavors delightfully.

This gratin could easily grace one’s Thanksgiving table; it can be scaled up to serve a crowd for larger gatherings. Yet it’s easy enough to serve as a side just about any time. And I promise it does not taste like turnips…

Print Recipe

Chipotle Butternut Gratin

Baked butternut squash gratin with the smoky heat of chipotles and rich saltiness of feta cheese.

Prep Time40 minutes mins

Cook Time50 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: sweet and smoky

Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

• 1 lb whole butternut squash
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp rosemary
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 2 tbsp chipotle chile in adobo sauce finely chopped
• 2 tbsp broth of choice
• 1 tsp honey or agave nectar
• 1/4 cup feta cheese crumbles

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375° F. Spray or lightly grease a quart size casserole dish. 

   Cut the squash in half, lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and peel. Slice thinly, crosswise, into approximately 1/8-inch slices and set aside.  Combine the butter and flour, mixing into a soft paste. Mix the salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme together in a small bowl. Finally, stir together the chipotle, broth and honey. 
• Make a layer of squash slices, slightly overlapping, in the bottom of the casserole. Sprinkle with a third of the spices, dot with a third of the butter/flour paste, then a third of the chipotle mix. Sprinkle with one tablespoon of the feta crumbles. Repeat the layers two more times, but reserving the final two tablespoons of cheese. Cover tightly with foil, bake for 35 minutes, or until the squash is tender. Remove the foil, sprinkle the remaining feta cheese over the top and bake uncovered for 15 additional minutes. 

   

True confession…

My name is Mary Kay, and I just might be a recipe addict. Thankfully, this doesn’t appear to be a habit for which I really need to join a support group. (My husband might disagree.) It’s just one of the ways I like to spend my time, checking out other people’s ideas about what to cook and how to cook it. Upon which I can then put my own spin.

In retrospect, I come by this habit pretty honestly. When my parents bought their farm, the house was a typical old, drafty farmhouse. They might have been the originators of the open concept, as they would go on to renovate the kitchen and living areas, adding substantial space. One wall of the newly expanded living room consisted of upper display shelves for my mother’s knick-knacks, with the bottom being enclosed bookshelves. While books might have been the original intention, in actuality, piles upon piles of “women’s magazines” lived there. Magazines that were chock full of recipes. This is the closest my mother ever came to hoarding…but either of us could easily select an old issue to peruse, assured that if enough time had passed, we wouldn’t remember it!

I continue her collecting today, though I limit the number of accrued magazines by tearing out the recipes I really want to try, and recycling the remainder. (I live in a smaller house, okay?) Not to mention the fifty or so cookbooks I regularly refer to for inspiration. There’s always the library, and of course, the Internet is any true recipe addict’s dream come true!

Now, if one Googles the phrase “cook without recipes” a list of sites will pop up, because there are some who believe that not using recipes is the key to teaching our cooking illiterate populace to prepare food at home. The theory reasons that recipes, with their lists of required ingredients and steps, not to mention shopping, are intimidating. Particularly if one has to use a recipe for every dish being served at the meal.

A professor in my grad school program believed when children are learning to read, they need to understand that the printed word is simply “talk, written down.” Well, as I see it, recipes are just spoken instructions, written down. As you read them, just imagine the steps popping patiently, one by one, out of your grandmother’s mouth. Hopefully she was a good cook…

While I did learn general cooking principles working side-by-side with my mother, I would argue that many of the foods I prepare without a recipe today are simply the product of repetition; having made the item so many times I know the directions by heart. That said, it is easier to make a meal when only one or two dishes require referencing directions. And it certainly is helpful to be able to open the pantry and fridge, offer up a little prayer as to the contents, and cobble together a meal with what happens to be there.

With that, I offer my “recipe” for zucchini fries. Nobody at my house gets too fired up when I mention that the vegetable tonight is zucchini, with this one exception. These are nothing but breaded, seasoned zucchini sticks, baked until crisp. But as you read through the “recipe”, just imagine my voice is guiding you through the steps…

Print Recipe

Baked Zucchini Fries

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time35 minutes mins

Course: Vegetable

Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 4 small young zucchini
• ¾ cup flour of choice gluten free is fine
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1 ½ cups bread cracker or nut crumbs
• Salt and pepper
• ½ teaspoon chopped rosemary
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• Olive oil

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 425° F.
• If you have a shallow rack, place it into a half sheet pan. If not, line the half sheet pan with parchment paper. Place the flour in a shallow dish and the beaten eggs in a second dish. In a third, combine the crumbs, pinch of salt and pepper, the rosemary and cayenne. Slice the zucchini into ½ inch sticks. Salt and pepper the slices. Dredge the zucchini slices in the flour, then roll them in the beaten eggs, then coat with the crumb mixture. Place on either the rack or parchment in the sheet pan. Drizzle slices lightly with olive oil. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown and tender.