Portland Foodie

Pumpkin and Butternut Squash Shepards Pie

Earlier in the week, or maybe at the end of last week (my days tend to blend together) I made a pumpkin and butternut squash shepards pie. Now, I thought of this as sort of an every day thing, but when I mentioned it on Twitter, people were astounded! "What? You used a pumpkin for shepards pie?", "You combined a pumpkin with butternut squash?" "You cooked for your family?" (For more hilarity, be sure to check out Good Enough Gardening Podcast, Hoards of Gourds episode).

The answer to all of the above is "Yes!". There are two key things at play here. The first is that shepards pie is really more of a method than a specific dish. There are a hundred variations, making it a great way to use up leftovers. The second is that pumpkin can actually be eaten like sweet potatoes. In fact, pumpkin tastes very similar to sweet potatoes...and to butternut squash, which is why many pumpkin pies are actually made with butternut squash. I happened to have a small sugar pumpkin and a good sized butternut squash, so I combined the two and made a great topping for my pie.

Here's how it all went down:

1 pie-sized pumpkin

1 butternut squash

6 oz broccoli, cut into florets

6 oz carrots, chopped

olive oil

salt and pepper

1 lb ground turkey

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 medium yellow onion, diced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp dried thyme

1 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp flour

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place broccoli and carrots on sheet pans. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast until browned and tender, 30 minutes or so. Remove and set aside.

At the same time, grab the small pumpkin and butternut squash. Cut in half, remove seeds, place on a baking sheet. Drizzle the cut sides with olive oil, salt and pepper. Turn cut side down and roast until tender...anywhere from 30-45 minutes, dependent upon the size. When finished, set aside to cool. Once cooled, remove the outer skins and place the orange flesh into a bowl. Mix together and set aside.

Add olive oil to a pan over medium heat. Saute turkey, pepper, onion, and garlic together. Add paprika, thyme, salt and pepper and cook until turkey is browned. Push mixture to the outer edges of pan. Add one tablespoon of butter and one tablespoon of flower to the center. Let combination melt and cook for approximately one minute. Whisk in chicken stock, add roasted broccoli and carrots, stir to combine. Bring to a simmer.

Take the squash and pumpkin mixture and layer over the top of the filling. Use a spatula to smooth. Place in a 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes until top starts to brown and firm.

Without a doubt, this is one of my favorite winter meals...and it is super easy! I would love to hear from you, if you give it a try...

photo by D3 San Francisco

Seafood Frittata and Savory Bread Pudding

Recently, I spent a couple of days at the Oregon coast with some of my best friends. In addition to lots of laughter, a little crying and some fantastic wines, we had unbelievably yummy food. OK, yes, I made the food, but hey, it was great...if I do say so myself...

What I loved about cooking this particular weekend was the spontaneity of it. My BFF Maryellen of Yoga Cowgirls, was there a day early and bought fresh crab, shrimp, smoked salmon, and clams. My other friends,  Suzanne (an unbelievable energy healer from NM) and Liz (you might know her from Elizabeth Leach Galleries), and I drove up together, stopping at my favorite farm stand on HWY 101, just outside of Tillamook. We snatched up peaches, nectarines, berries, tomatoes, peppers, squash, onions and all manner of baked goods. It was hard to resist buying the big, beautiful pumpkins that were out back in the patch.

I whipped up an awesome dinner...but really, anyone could have with that bounty. As usual, we had way more than we could eat, so I transformed the ingredients into brunch the next day. In addition to a yummy fruit crumble (where I used granola instead of plain rolled oats for the topping), I whipped up a seafood frittata and savory bread pudding. Both are super easy to make and completely delicious...so I thought I would share the recipes.

Seafood Frittata

olive oil

2 cloves of garlic

1/2 medium sweet onion

1 heirloom tomato

1 jalepeno

12 eggs

1/2 cup cooked pasta

1/4 lb cleaned crab meat, roughly chopped

1/4 cup smoke salmon, flaked

1/2 cup white cheddar cheese

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In an oven proof skillet, saute onion and garlic until translucent. In a bowl, break eggs and add just a bit of water. Whisk until yolks are broken and mixture is combined. Add tomato, jalepeno, salt and pepper, stir and pour into skillet. (I had actually made fresh salsa the night before and just used some of that, which you could certainly do, too). Sprinkle in pasta, crab and salmon, use a spatula to gently move the eggs a bit, but don't scramble. When the eggs have started to cook on the bottom, sprinkle cheese across the top of the eggs and place in the oven. Cook until the center is set, 10-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand a couple of minutes, cut and serve.

Savory Bread Pudding

1 loaf of day old bread (we had Italian)

3-4 eggs

2-3 cups of milk

1/4 shredded Parmesan

diced roasted vegetables (grilled the night before...we used two kinds of summer squash and red onion)

3-4 tbsp butter, diced

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp dried oregano

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Chop bread into cubes and place in a roasting pan. In a bowl, combine milk, cheese and eggs...the amount will vary dependent upon how much bread you have. It should be enough to cover the bread when pushed down with a weighted pan. Add garlic powder, oregano, salt and pepper, whisk to combine. Add roasted veggies, stir and pour over bread. Place a pan on top of the mixture and weight it with a couple of cans of tomatoes. Let stand for 15 minutes or so...remove the pan, and top with butter pieces. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the mixture is set in the center.

Both of these dishes are incredibly easy to make...and a great use of leftovers! I hope you give it a try and let me know how it turns out in your kitchen.

Roasted Summer Squash Dip

I always have a hard time figuring out what to do with all of my squash... Earlier, I wrote about a wonderful saute with sage, fennel and butter. And while that was incredibly yummy, I can't have it every night...

So, I decided to try something completely out of the box...and the Roasted Summer Squash Dip was born...It is very simply to make and tres magnifique... So here's how you do it:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Start by cleaning squash and cutting into chunks
• Place on 8x10 baking sheet
• Drizzle with olive oil, add salt and pepper, toss to coat
• Add 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, still in skins, coat with olive oil
• Roast for 25 minutes or until squash and garlic has started to caramelize
• Remove and let cool

Now, this by itself is a great way to prepare squash. You could certainly stop right there, slip the garlic out of its skins, chop and add and eat. But, if you want to make the dip, please proceed...

• Remove garlic from skins
• Add garlic and squash to bowl of food processor
• Pulse squash until it develops a smooth consistency
• Stream in extra virgin olive oil to loosen mixture a bit and add flavor
• Serve with noshing materials (veggies, crackers) or use as spread in pitas and sandwiches

Isn't it gorgeous?

I mean, I would probably make it for the color alone...I hope you enjoy it...let me know!

<a href="http://technorati.com/claim/54yztqjvxh" rel="me">Technorati Profile</a>

 

Sage, Fennel and Butter Squash Saute

Ok, it is rare that you see patty pan squash this large...but this is what happens when you go out of town for a week and the squash takes over. YIKES! These are as large as they look...huge! What in the world am I going to do with all this squash?

So, I decided to experiment with a saute that is reminiscent of ravioli dishes I have had....here's the scoop:
You will need summer squash. I used white in this recipe and actually find that I like it better than yellow. It has a milder flavor and is more easily adaptable in recipes.
Start by browning diced honey or maple ham in a skillet with a bit of olive oil. Remove and drain. In the same skillet, saute the sliced squash in a mixture of extra virgin olive oil and butter. Make sure the butter browns a bit in the course of cooking, but don't let it burn. Add fennel seeds, fresh sage cut into strips, salt and pepper. Cook until squash is tender. Add crisped ham on top of cooked squash for finishing touch.

For more information on growing squash, visit Gardener to Farmer.