Recipe: Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Pears and Blue Cheese

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Pears and Blue Cheese

Adapted from Fine Cooking Magazine

Yield: 4 Servings

Using just the top half of the squash creates rounds of the same size for even roasting and a pretty salad.

Ingredients

1 large butternut squash (about 3 lb)

5 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary (fresh thyme is also a nice addition)

6 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into lardons

1 1/2 Tbs balsamic vinegar or lemon juice

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 medium head butter lettuce (can substitute your favorite lettuce or use mesclun)

2 medium firm-ripe pears (Bartlett or Anjou), cored and sliced 1/8 inch thick

6 oz blue cheese, crumbled

Instructions 

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 450F.

Cut the narrow top portion of the squash close to where it widens (reserve the base for another use, like this). Peel with a carrot peeler and slice it into 12 thin (about 1/4 inch) rounds.

Brush both sides of the squash with 1 Tbsp of the oil and spread in a single layer on a rimmed cookie sheet. Sprinkle with rosemary, thyme (if using), salt and freshly ground pepper. Roast, turning once, until softened and brown, about 25 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar (or lemon juice), mustard, and S&P to taste. Slowly whisk in the remaining 4 Tbsp oil. 

In a large bowl, toss the lettuce and pears with enough vinaigrette to coat lightly. Arrange the squash on 4 large plates. Top each with a mound of the lettuce and pear, and sprinkle with bacon and crumbled blue cheese.

Serve immediately.

Notes:

For added crunch, I also like to sprinkle roasted pecans or roasted butternut squash seeds.

Blog post with pictures is here.

Recipe: Butternut Squash Oat Muffins with Candied Ginger

Butternut Squash Oat Muffins with Candied Ginger

Adapted from The NY Times Dining and Wine Section, Melissa Clark

Yield: 18 muffins*

Ingredients

1 c all- purpose flour

2/3 c whole-wheat flour

1/2 c oats

1/3 c light brown sugar

1 T baking powder

1 t fine sea salt

1 t ground cinnamon**

1/4 t nutmeg

Zest of one lemon

2 large eggs, room temperature

1/2 c Greek yogurt, room temperature

10 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 1/2 c shredded butternut squash***

1/4 c finely chopped candied ginger****

Instructions

Heat oven to 375 degrees; grease muffin tins (alternatively, line muffin tins with paper cups)

In a large bowl, combine the flours, oats, sugar, baking powder, salt, spices and lemon zest. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, Greek yogurt, melted butter and maple syrup.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and gently stir with a rubber spatula until almost combined -- the batter will be very thick. Then fold in the shredded squash and candied ginger.

Spoon the batter into the muffin tins. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until muffins are golden and a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.

Cool 5 minutes in the pan before turning muffins onto a wire cooling rack.

Notes:

*The original recipe stated that the recipe makes 1 dozen muffin. I filled the muffin tins quite high, and had enough for 18 muffins. Recipe could easily stretch to 2 dozen.

** I thought that 1 t of cinnamon was a little heavy handed -- but I am not a big cinnamon fan. The amount could certainly be reduced to 1/2 t in my opinion

***Despite its' difficult reputation, butternut squash is a very manageable vegetable to peel and deconstruct. I used a carrot peeler to remove the skin and a food processor to grate it. (And don't throw out the seeds. Toss with a little olive oil, sea salt and fresh rosemary -- and roast for about 10 minutes. Utterly addictive!) 

****Golden raisins would be a nice substitution