The last time I made a delicious butternut squash I did it two ways that was a mixture of pan seared and mashed that we really enjoyed. I did it in a southwest style that I winged and didn’t publish yet. So I did a similar recipe but with an Italian kind of twist that also came out really delicious. My guess is that this makes around six servings but my idea of serving size might differ from your idea oof serving size. It makes what you see in the picture. My picture is of the dish cold and did look better all melty but I did that in sections and didn’t think it would look good that way….I was wrong I guess….
Ingredients for around 6 servings
1 red onion – slice extra thin on a mandolin
1 cup white vinegar
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 bay leaf
2 lbs butternut squash – peeled, seeds removed, cut in 1 inch cubes
2 oz sweet butter
big pinch sea salt
big pinch ground black pepper
big pinch dried rosemary
big pinch dried thyme
big pinch granulated garlic
splash sherry vinegar
2 oz sweet butter (this is for whipped squash)
3 Tablespoons heavy cream
1 dried hot pepper crumbled (I used a Calabrian peri peri pepper)
a few grates fresh nutmeg
4 oz walnut halves (this is really more than you need I discovered afterwards..use rest for salads or snacks)
1 Tablespoon sugar ( I used turbinado…any sugar will be fine)
1 Tablespoon oil (I used walnut oil but would use canola in a pinch)
2 dried hot peppers or to taste (I used two Calabrian peri peri peppers)
big pinch sea salt
1-2 oz gorgonzola cheese – crumbled – to taste
8 amarena cherries in syrup cut in half (plus around 1/4 cup of the syrup to add on just before serving…..If you aren’t using amarena cherries then a little drizzle of honey or date syrup would be good) If I was substituting cherries I’d use golden raisins or chopped dates)
garnish with a little fresh chopped thyme or rosemary
Directions
Put a sauce pot on medium high with the vinegar, kosher salt, bay leaf and 2 Tablespoons of sugar. Bring to boil and when it’s dissolved you can pour it over the onion and let it sit to the side. (This is best if down the day before) Leave on counter till it gets to room temperature and then refrigerate.
Melt two ounces of butter in a big fry pan on medium high heat with big pinches of sea salt, black pepper, rosemary, thyme, granulated garlic and a splash of sherry vinegar. Add squash and brown it up a big
Set oven to 350 F.
Get out sheet pans. You squash might not be cooked all the way so put the squash on sheet pans on top rack for about ten minutes or until cooked though and then remove from oven.
Make seasoned walnuts. Set oven to 250 degrees F.
In a small mixing bowl add 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon oil, 2 dried crumbled hot peppers, and a big pinch of salt. Mix well and add walnuts and mix well. Spread out the walnuts on a sheet pan. Put them in the oven on a middle rack till fragrant. (about 10 minutes) leave on counter to cool.
Half the butternut squash gets whipped with 2 oz butter, I dried hot pepper, a few grates nutmeg and three tablespoons heavy cream. Whip or mash well.
Everything is done so just put together to serve.
Put the mashed or whipped butternut squash on a plate for in a bowl. Surround the squash with the seared squash. Top with pickled onions, amarena cherries, spiced walnuts, gorgonzola cheese and a small amount of fresh thyme or rosemary and the cherry syrup (not pictured because I figured this out after I snapped picture).
Butternut Squash Two Ways with Spiced Walnuts, Pickled Onions, Amarena Cherries and Gorganzola Cheese
I got the idea to make Asian Style Vegetables. I thought they’d be healthier with the sauce on the side. That way I don’t use as much sauce. That means less fat, sugar and salt. The vegetables are very easy to prepare. Just set your oven to 500 degrees F. Spread out a single layer of the same kind of vegetable on a baking sheet spray with neutral or peanut oil. Most vegetables go on the middle rack. Depending on the vegetable and size of cut they usually take either 10 or 20 minutes. Vegetables I used were cauliflower, shishito peppers, celery, shallot and a red bell pepper. You can use whatever vegetables you like.
1/2 teaspoon granulated ginger (you can substitute about an inch of fresh grated ginger……I didn’t have)
1 Tablespoon chili paste (or to taste..the different brands taste different)
2 Tablespoons honey
pinch allspice
pinch ground star anise
hot pepper flakes to taste
neutral or peanut oil I think I used around a quarter cup of oil (for spraying vegetables)
cauliflower – cut in florets
3 shallots – cut in slices
8 oz shishito peppers – trim off stems
4 stalks celery – cut on diagonal around one inch pieces
1 red bell pepper cut in strips
2 Tablespoons scallions – for finishing
1 Tablespoon toasted sesame seeds – for finishing
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro – for finishing
sea salt – to taste
ground black pepper – to taste
Directions
Set oven to 500 degrees F.
In a small mixing bowl mix together the shaohsing wine, garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame paste, black vinegar, hoisin, ginger, chili paste, honey, peanut butter, allspice, star anise, and hot pepper flakes. Set to the side and use when ready.
Each kind of vegetable that you are using gets done at a different time. but they all get sprayed with oil and go on their own baking sheet. Your results might differ from mine.
Cauliflower I put in the middle racks. Mine took 20 minutes. Celery took close to 20 minutes to but I cooked my celery on the low rack.
My shishitos, bell peppers and shallots got done pretty fast. Around ten minutes at 500 degrees F. I cooked them on my lower rack of the oven.
Season vegetables with fresh crushed sea salt and ground black pepper.
Serve with sauce and finish with scallions, sesame seeds and cilantro.
I had some tofu that I had to use so I thought up marinated tofu in tomato curry. Tofu is very versatile and can be used many ways. I think if you are just using plain tofu to eat that it taste better marinated. I made a simple marinade for it with sriracha.
Shark brand sriracha is on left…I think any of the bottles on right will work with it
I used the Shark brand that taste sweet and tomato-ee so that was the inspiration to do tomato curry. If you use a different brand of sriracha yours will come out different and might need some adjustments. My idea of serving size might differ from your idea of serving size. To me this makes about three smaller servings. You also need to add some vegetables to this dish. I didn’t have much around the house so I only used onions, a few extra tomatoes and a carrot. You can use whatever you like.
Ingredients for around three servings
14 oz tofu – I used firm – cut in bite size pieces
1/4 cup sriracha – preferably Shark Brand (marinade) With a different brand you might need to add sweetness.
1/4 cup – tamari or soy sauce or Golden Mountain (whatever you like best) (marinade)
1 teaspoon honey (marinade)
1 – 13.5 can coconut milk
2 hot chili peppers or to taste – fine chop
1 inch grated ginger
3 garlic – ground to paste (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon crushed cardamon
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon vegetable soup base (instead of salt and adds more flavors)
12 oz peeled cooked tomatoes
1 sweet onion – chopped or small slices
1 carrot sliced
a few roasted small sweet tomatoes (tossed in at end)
handful fresh basil – torn
small amount of oil, non stick spray or a little oil that might be on tomatoes
Directions
Start by marinating tofu. The tofu goes in a gallon ziplock bag and you add the sriracha, honey and tamari (or soy sauce or Golden Mountain) This needs to marinate about 90 minutes. Leave it sit one your counter for around an hour and then start up the rest.
A little oil goes in your fry pan or sauce pot on medium high heat and you cook up the onions and hot pepper till soft. Then add in garlic. Then add coconut milk and ginger, cardamon, turmeric and vegetable base and thin carrot slices. I let it cook down a little and when the carrots are soft I added the roasted tomatoes. Next add the roasted sweet tiny tomatoes.
By this time it’s around 90 minutes for the tofu so I drained it and add to the curry. Finish with fresh basil.
Fry’s had corn on sale for almost free so here is what I made with some of the corn. These corn cakes came out FORKING AMAZING! They are full of flavors and finish with a little heat. Some of the ingredients might be hard to find but can be found at Mexican Grocery Stores. Your corn cakes won’t come out as delicious unless you make these corn cakes the way I did. Also my idea of serving size might differ from your idea of serving size. I made 16 very small corn cakes so I would say two corn cakes is a small serving but I can totally see many people would prefer the serving size to be larger like 4 corn cakes each. So this recipe makes between 4-8 servings depending on your appetite.
Ingredients for 8 very small servings
2 cups corn kernels – cooked (my corn was cooked in covered pans of water in the oven with 2 oz of butter and small amount of sea salt 350 degrees F for 90 minutes. The corn comes out juicy and sugary sweet)
1 egg – beaten
2 oz cotija cheese = shredded + plus extra for serving
1/4 cup flour
1 Tablespoon corn starch
1 Tablespoon hatch chili – (fire roasted peeled seeds removed) – fine chopped
2 Tablespoons scallions – sliced thin
2 Tablespoon cilantro – chopped
1 Tablespoon (heaping) epazote – chopped
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
4 chile-tepin peppers – crumbled
1 garlic clove – ground to paste
non-stick spray or oil to fry if you prefer frying with oil
optional a little sour cream to serve with
Directions
One cup of corn kernels goes in your mixing bowl. The other cup of corn kernels gets blended smooth. Mix them together and then mix in all the remaining ingredients. Spray your fry pan with non stick spray. Get your pan fully heated on medium heat. Use a teaspoon and make smaller sized cakes. They will need 3-4 minutes a side. Keep going till you are done. Serve with some grated cotiija cheese and maybe a little sour cream.
I was sort of gifted with a case of Mexican Mangos. We don’t eat many mangos. I don’t want to make a dessert I don’t need. So I got the idea that mangos are sort of creamy naturally and they are very sweet. I thought I can just blend them up and freeze them.
So I blended them up.
I poured them into a container and put the container in my freezer. For the next day about every 8-10 hours I’d scrap the harder frozen ends to distribute the freezing mango.
Around 24 hours latter I have a tub of frozen dessert without any added sugar, colors or added fat.
Easy One Ingredient Mango Ice
This would be amazing with added strawberries. It would be great with pineapple and or coconut. I would also like it with little chunks of crystalized ginger. Maybe shaved chocolate would be tasty too.
Fry’s supermarket was practically giving corn away for free so we got some and I did something different but delicious with it. Made easy to roll pasta dough. I cooked the corn in the oven with seasoning and water. The corn got a really great flavor to it and the water had a good flavor to so I made it into sauce. You will have FOUR extra ears of corn that you have to freeze and use for something else. You also will have a small amount of leftover corn filling that would be delicious to have in an omelet the next day. I made mine into raviolo. They are larger than ravioli. You can make yours into whatever shape you want. Mine made me 7 LARGE raviolo. To me that is 7 servings. But my idea of serving size might differ from your idea of serving size. I thought one was enough per person but my husband said he’d prefer two.
Ingredients for about 7 servings (plus extra corn)
2 eggs (pasta)
3 yolks – plus save one egg white for sealing ravioli (pasta)
1 1/3 cup flour (all brands of flour are ground different so you might need more or less (pasta) + extra for dusting the dough
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (pasta)
2 pinches sea salt (pasta)
6 ears corn peeled
4 oz salted butter – cut in half
2 Calabrian Chili Peppers – fine chopped
1-2 garlic cloves – minced (I used one clove but it was oddly large)
8 cups water
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme – in two portions for two pans
All the liquid from cooking the corn – sauce
8 oz heavy cream – sauce
4 Tablespoons corn starch – sauce
2 ears cooked corn kernels – filling
5 oz wild mushroom brie cheese – filling
2 Tablespoons sliced scallions – filling
around 1/4 cup corn meal to rest ravioli or raviolo on
a little extra virgin olive oil to sprinkle on ravioli or raviolo so they don’t stick
finish with some fresh parsley
grated Italian cheese
Directions
Make dough. Combine two eggs and three yolks and mix well. Add olive oil and salt and mix well. Add flour..Start with one cup and add more if needed. (I usually need 1 1/3 cup but every brand of flour is ground different so the amount you need will differ). Knead the dough and when smooth wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator.
Now cook corn.
Set oven to 350 degrees f. The corn goes in two large pans (I use 1/2 buffet pans) 3 ears in one pan and three ears in the other pan. 1/2 the butter, Calabrian Chili, garlic, water, bay leaf and thyme go in each pan. Cover pans tightly with foil and place them in the middle rack of oven. Let them cook for 90 minutes. Then remove the pans from the oven. Use thongs and let the corn cool off. Throw out the bay leaves but DON’T THROW OUT THE LIQUID. Leave the liquid cool some on the counter. (It smells wonderful and all those flavors are infused into the corn)
When the corn is cool enough to handle make the filling.
Kernals get removed from the ears of corn. Mix the kernels with the cheese and scallions. Cover with plastic wrap and set in the refrigerator.
Make the sauce. Get a big cup or a bowl and mix the corn starch with a cup or two with a whisk so you don’t get lumps. The corn liquid, corn liquid mixed with corn starch and the heavy cream go in a pot on medium high heat. Mix well so you don’t get lumps. Once it bubbles turn the heat down to medium and let it reduce till you are happy with the consistency. (this takes a while) Take off heat and set to the side.
The quick and easy part is rolling the dough. Roll it out till it’s nice and thin. You will need to dust both sides with a little flour.
Cut dough however you want and paint edges of dough with egg white. Then stuff the dough with some filling. Edges of top dough also get egg white. Lay the top dough over the bottom dough and press them together and try to get the air out of center.
The stuffed pastas rest on a pan with corn meal (so they don’t stick) till you are ready to cook them (cover with plastic wrap so they don’t dry out. Gently boil for around two minutes or until it floats. Serve with sauce and a little fresh parsley and grated Italian cheese.
Corn and Wild Mushroom Brie Raviolo in Creamy Corn Stock Sauce
There are all kinds of salsa verde recipes out there. The Mexican Style Salsa Verde made with tomatillos is very popular. Other salsa verde recipes are basically herb sauces. My favorite salsa verde recipe that I’ve come across is the chef Richard Blais recipe for salsa verde. I’ve discovered that now I’m making salsa verde semi regularly. It’s so delicious and goes so well with just about any protein. The other reason why I’m making it so often is because it’s a great delicious way to use up your fresh herbs so they don’t go to waste.
Below is a picture of what I put in my no measure salsa verde.
In the orange colander is all my leftover tarragon, lots of parsley leaves, scallions and a little cilantro. (tarragon is really delicious in salsa verde………)
You need a chopped up hot green or yellow pepper ….I like using my own pickled hot peppers (the pickled adds something and it helps make the sauce stay fresh.
You need something sweet I used honey because it is a preservative.
You need fresh squeezed lemon.
You need olive oil
capers are very good in salsa verde.
Depending one how it taste you might need salt.
Maybe you might use a small amount of water to thin the sauce.
It comes out amazing all the time. You can play around with the sauce. Maybe add something like almonds for a different taste. Richard Blais uses golden raisins for sweetness and also uses anchovies for depth and salt flavor.
I had some beets and wanted to do something new and different with them. I was thinking about Moroccan Food so I looked up recipes for Moroccan Spice Rub. WOW all the recipes I found are so different. The only common ingredients in most of the recipes were ginger, cinnamon and coriander. Other than that they differed greatly. So I picked one that sounded the most delicious for beets. It is from www.BBCGoodFood.com for Moroccan Spice Rub. Well I picked a great one because these beets came out amazing! I served the beets with pickled onions, olives, gooseberries, feta cheese, urfa pepper and fresh mint so it was delicious. This recipe is only for the beets but you can easily put it together in a similar way. I do note that my idea of serving size might differ from your idea of serving size. This makes around 8 small servings.
Ingredients for around 8 servings
2 lbs beets – peeled and cut in any shape you like
water to almost cover beets in pan
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper (I rounded up to 1 teaspoon and it came out a bit spicy)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
optional pickled onions to taste (recipe can be found on this site)
optional olives to taste
optional gooseberries to taste (apricots or other fruit would work)
optional feta cheese to taste
optional urfa pepper (taste really great on the feta cheese)
optional fresh mint to taste
Directions
Set oven to 400 degrees F.
Your peeled cut up beets go in a loaf shaped pan. Then I poured all the spices on top of the beets. The cumin, ginger, salt, black pepper, cinnamon, coriander, cayenne, allspice and cloves. Then I added enough water to almost cover beets. The pan gets covered tight and goes in the middle of the oven till beets are tender. Around 45 minutes to an hour. Timing will differ because all ovens differ and beets differ depending on size and freshness.
When ready to use drain beets and suggested serving is pickled onions, olives, gooseberries, feta cheese, urfa pepper and fresh mint.
Moroccan spiced beets
Most people will enjoy this! Even my husband enjoyed them and he isn’t a fan of beets!
Choyote squash is different than the other squashes that I know of out there. This one is crisp when it’s raw almost like an apple. When you cook this squash it’s slightly sweet with little flavor. I picked up one choyote squash not knowing what I’d do with it. It just so happened that maybe the next day I came across local chef Tandy Peterson’s recipe for Cocoa Pomegranate Vinaigrette recipe in a Phoenix Home and Garden Magizine. Instantly I thought her vinaigrette or a similar vinaigrette would be great with Choyote Squash. After I read her recipe I figured I’d have to make a similar but different recipe because I didn’t want to use a whole cup of oil and I didn’t have pomegranate juice at home. Instead I used only one tablespoons of oil, some dijon mustard and a few spices that Tandy doesn’t have in her recipe like smoked paprika and cinnamon. My recipe is an inspiration of Tandy’s recipe and is meant to give flavor to the squash with less fat. Tandy’s recipe is a true vinaigrette recipe. You might prefer to do Tandy’s Cocoa Pomegranate Vinaigrette – 1 t. minced shallots, 2 T. pomegranate molasses, 3 T. pomegranate juice, 3 T. apple cider vinegar, 1 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1 t. cocoa powder, 1 pinch cayenne, 1 teaspoon salt. Just shake it up in a mason jar till it’s done. Below is the recipe for Roasted Choyote Squash with Golden Raisins, Toasted Coconut, Toasted Almonds, Scallions in Pomegranate Cocoa Vinaigrette. I did make it a 2nd time and I really enjoyed it more with a little charred cabbage added so that isn’t in this recipe buy it’s something you might want to add.
Ingredients for around 2 servings
1 choyote squash – washed well – cut in rough chunks or cubes – cut around the pit
drizzle olive oil
fresh ground sea salt to taste
fresh ground black pepper to taste
2 Tablespoons unsweetened coconut flakes – toasted at 300 degrees F till brown- (maybe 5 minutes)
12 almonds – crushed – toasted at 300 degrees F (maybe 6-7 minutes)
1 Tablespoon golden raisins
1 scallion – chopped
1/2 teaspoon shallots – minced
1 Tablespoon pomegranate molasses
1 Tablespoon + 1 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
pinch cinnamon
pinch sea salt
Directions
Set the oven to 425 degrees F
Put the squash on a small baking sheet and lightly drizzle with oil. The squash stay in till slightly brown on a middle rack in the oven. Mine took about 20 minutes but timing may differ.
While the squash is roasting make the vinaigrette.
In a small mixing bowl ass the shallots, pomegranate molasses, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, dijon, cocoa powder, cayenne, smoked paprika, cinnamon and salt. Mix till emulsified and the golden raisins and let it sit.
As soon as you take the squash out of the oven hit them with fresh ground salt and pepper to taste. If you didn’t toast the coconut and almonds do that now and lower the oven temp to 300 degrees F. The coconut toast really fast like in 5 minutes and the almonds only take a couple minutes more. When ready to serve toss the squash in the vinaigrette and top with the toasted coconut, almonds and scallions.
Roasted Choyote Squash with Golden Raisins Coconut & Almonds in Pomegranate Cocoa Vinaigrette
A SPECIAL THANKS to Chef Tandy Peterson!!!! For sharing her recipe for Cocoa Pomegranate Vinaigrette. I think similar flavors go really well with Choyote Squash Golden raisins, coconut and almonds. Actually I made this a second time and it was even better when I added some charred green cabbage to the Choyote Squash.
