Week 15: Butternut Squash Lasagna With Basil Bechamel

I had no intention of featuring two pasta dishes in a row, let alone two pasta dishes containing winter squash. But with a CSA, you cook what you have; and last week, I had two butternut squash and a sugar pumpkin sitting on the counter. I'm hardly making a dent in my supplies.

If you are not blessed with a squash (or two) of your own, it's worth getting one just for this lasagna. The basil adds a lot of flavor to the sauce, and gives it a pretty green color.

Butternut Squash Lasagna With Basil Bechamel
(Adapted from this Giada de Laurentiis recipe. Serves 8. You can prepare the squash puree ahead of time.)

Olive oil
1 butternut squash, about 3 pounds (or 3 cups prepared squash puree)
Salt and pepper to taste
4.5 Tbsp butter
4.5 Tbsp flour
4 cups whole milk
Pinch nutmeg
3/4 cup (lightly packed) fresh basil leaves
12 no-boil lasagna noodles
2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup fresh grated Parmesan

Prepare squash: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Slice the squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Brush the cut surface lightly with olive oil and set the squash cut-side down on a baking sheet (foil-lined, if you like). Roast the squash for about 45 minutes, or until the flesh is soft (but not mush). Let the squash cool a bit, then scoop out the cooked flesh, discarding the peel. Place the cooked squash in a food processor and pulse several times to puree. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and set aside. You should have 3 to 3-1/2 cups of puree.

Prepare bechamel: Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute, then whisk in the milk gradually. Bring the liquid to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer the sauce, whisking often, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 10 minutes. (This makes a thin white sauce.) Whisk in the nutmeg. Carefully transfer about half of the sauce to a blender and let it cool there for at least 5 minutes. Add the basil leaves on top, then blend until smooth. Return the basil bechamel to the sauce in the pan and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Assemble and cook the lasagna: Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Lightly butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Spread 3/4 cup sauce on the bottom of the pan, then make three layers as follows, leaving space between the noodles (they expand considerably when they cook):

3 noodles
1/3 of the squash puree (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup mozzarella
1/2 cup basil bechamel

Place the final 3 noodles on top and spoon on the remaining bechamel. (You will probably have more sauce than you need.) Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake the lasagna for 40 minutes.

Sprinkle the lasagna with the remaining half-cup of  mozzarella cheese and all of the Parmesan. Bake uncovered for about 15 minutes, or until the sauce bubbles and the top is golden. Let the lasagna rest for 15 minutes before serving.

Week 14: Pasta With Roasted Squash, Mushrooms, and Sage

I made butternut squash-filled ravioli once -- only once. The recipe used wonton wrappers for the pasta, and while it was not a total disaster, it was not worth repeating, either. Someday, in a more ambitious moment, I'll go the complete route from scratch. In the meantime, there's today's recipe. It mimics the flavor combination that I was going for, but eliminates much of the work. Definitely one for the "repeat" list.

(And now that I'm contemplating the recipe, I think it would be great to try pairing the roasted vegetables with ricotta-filled ravioli or cheese tortellini, instead of just plain pasta. Lots of delicious possibilities here.)

Pasta With Roasted Squash, Mushrooms, and Sage
(Adapted from Beyond Salmon. Serves 4. If you roast more squash than you want for this dish, you can use some of the roasted cubes in one of these salads.)

1 butternut squash (about 2 pounds), seeded, peeled, and cut into 3/4-inch to 1-inch cubes
About 2 Tbsp olive oil, divided use
Salt and pepper
2 portabella mushroom caps, cleaned
8 ounces pasta (I used farfalle)
1 Tbsp butter
12 sage leaves (or more, to taste)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Toss squash cubes with a tablespoon (or little more) of olive oil and spread them out in a single layer on one or two baking sheets. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the mushrooms on a baking dish (they can share space with the squash), brush with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.

Roast the squash and mushrooms for 20 to 30 minutes,  flipping the pieces about halfway through the cooking time, until the squash is soft and just beginning to caramelize. Remove from oven. When the mushrooms are cool enough to handle, slice them 1/4-inch thick.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, and cook the pasta according to the directions on the box.

Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the sage leaves in one layer. Cook 1 to 2 minutes, until the leaves begin to stiffen and crisp, then add the garlic. Continue to cook until the garlic turns golden, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat.

Drain the pasta well, then mix in the roasted squash, mushrooms, and sage-garlic butter. Sprinkle with cheese, or serve the cheese on the side.

Week 16: Roasted Butternut Squash Salads

Once you get past the idea that salad is synonymous with lettuce, you begin to see the possibilities in other vegetables. Take butternut squash, for instance. Cubed and roasted, squash makes an ideal base for interesting fall salads.

Peruse salad recipes and you’ll find butternut squash paired with strong, savory flavors that play against its inherent sweetness: onion, garlic, mustard, arugula, vinegar, olives, Roquefort cheese, feta. With a couple of large squash from the CSA, I tried out a pair of salad recipes that, despite some ingredients in common, have very different flavor profiles. Either of these recipes makes a hearty side dish or light stand-alone entree, with nary a leaf of iceberg in sight.

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad Variations 

Preparation Step

1 medium butternut squash (2 to 3 pounds), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat your oven to 425°F. Toss together the squash, garlic, and olive oil in a large bowl. Spread the mixture out onto a large baking sheet (use two, if necessary, to not crowd the squash pieces) and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast the squash for about 25 minutes, flipping the pieces about halfway through the cooking time, until the squash is soft and just beginning to caramelize. If you are using two baking trays, switch their position in the oven midway through cooking. Take care to not overcook the squash or the cubes will collapse when they are tossed with the other salad ingredients. Remove the squash from the oven and let cool.

Variation 1: Roasted Squash and Chickpea Salad With Tahini Dressing

(Adapted from Smitten Kitchen, by way of earlier adaptations. The tahini dressing is also wonderful on falafel.)

For the Salad
Roasted cubes from a 3-pound squash (as described above)
One 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped parsley

For the Dressing
1 clove garlic, finely minced
Pinch salt
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 Tbsp tahini
3 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp olive oil

Combine the squash, chickpeas, onion, and parsley in a large salad bowl.

Whisk together the garlic, salt, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Add the tahini, water, and olive oil, blending well with each addition. Adjust seasoning to taste. Dress the salad, tossing carefully, or serve the dressing on the side (my preference).

Variation 2: Roasted Squash and Black Bean Salad With Spicy Chipotle Dressing

(Adapted from My Pantry Shelf. To beef up the salad (so to speak), garnish it with feta cheese.)

For the Salad

Roasted cubes from a 3-pound squash (as described above)
One 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
2 Tbsp parsley or cilantro (optional)

For the Dressing

1/4 cup canola oil

2 garlic cloves, peeled

1/3 cup lime juice

1 Tablespoon honey

1 chipotle chili in adobo

1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine the squash, beans, onion, and parsley (if using) in a large salad bowl and set aside.

In a small saucepan, heat the oil and cloves of garlic over medium heat just until the garlic begins to brown. Cool slightly. In a blender container, combine the oil and garlic with all of the remaining dressing ingredients. Blend until smooth. Spoon a couple of tablespoons of dressing over the salad and toss carefully. Serve salad with remaining dressing on the side.

Tis Another Season To Be Cooking

I popped into my kosher butcher shop yesterday and guess what song was playing on the radio?

White Christmas.

At least we can chalk up that one to a nice Jewish boy. The holiday, too, for that matter.

Anyway, the post-CSA cooking has run the gamut from roasted Brussels sprouts with garlic to rum-tinged cranberry sauce to homemade Pop-Tarts. And I've been on a squash kick of late. Here are a couple of good choices for cold winter evenings.

Squash, Cauliflower,and Chickpea Curry

Vegetarian Cabbage Rolls

These are really before-and-after pictures, as the cabbage rolls are stuffed with rice and leftovers from the squash curry. The recipes and idea are from The Boston Globe. (For a meaty "stuffed cabbage" with a lot less work, check out my Stuffed Cabbage Casserole.)

Another recent hit was this stuffed squash recipe, also via The Boston Globe.

Mushroom and Barley Stuffed Delicata Squash

(adapted, barely, from The Boston Globe Magazine. Mostly, I cut back on the salt and oil, and made minor ingredient substitutions based on what I had at home.)

2.75 cups water

1 cup pearled barley

3 delicata squash, about 1.25 pounds each, halved lengthwise and seeded

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

2 Tbsp frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, reconstituted and chopped

2 ribs celery, finely chopped

1 yellow onion, chopped

10 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

In a large saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add barley and 1/4 teaspoon salt, lower heat and simmer, covered, about 35 minutes or until the barley is tender and the water has been absorbed. Remove cover and set aside.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Brush squash halves with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake cut side down on a foil-lined baking sheet for 30 minutes. Turn squash halves over, brush each half with orange juice concentrate, and bake cut side up for another 20 minutes. Remove from oven.

While the squash is baking, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet and saute the celery and onion until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the celery mixture to the barley along with the porcini mushrooms. Heat another tablespoon of olive oil in the skillet and saute the sliced button mushrooms until brown, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and herbs to the skillet and cook another minute more. Add this to the barley mixture, and stir in the vinegar. Taste the barley mixture and adjust the seasoning as desired.

Fill the squash cavities with the barley mixture and bake until the filling is heated through, about 20 minutes.

Week 15: Lasagna With Squash and Kale

I had ambitious cooking plans for the week. I also had ambitious work plans. Work won out, and that's why I have a head of green cabbage, a butternut squash, and a couple of beets to carry me into the coming CSA week.

Still, we had two good CSA-centric meals. One was a pot of roasted vegetables that included this week's eggplant and tomatoes along with onions, garlic, pepper, and potato. It was similar to ratatouille, but accompanied by a Thai-inspired peanut sauce. (I liked it better without the sauce.) The other meal was lasagna, a multi-step, multi-pot concoction that I decided to tackle when a client's database problems prevented me from logging into work. (Ah, the joys of being a remote freelancer.) The lasagna, which used up one of our butternut squashes and our kale, ultimately was worth the work. It would make a lovely vegetarian entree for Thanksgiving.

Lasagna With Squash and Kale
(Adapted from Sunset Magazine. The lasagna can be assembled and refrigerated up to a day ahead of baking.)

4 Tbsp olive oil (divided use)
1 medium red onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic (1 minced; 2 peeled but left whole)
1 can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes
1 tsp dried oregano
Salt and pepper
6 cups butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 3 pounds squash)
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 pound kale
9 whole-wheat lasagna noodles (8 oz.)
1 container (15 oz.) part-skim ricotta cheese
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese (divided use)

Prepare the sauce: Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a sauce pot over medium heat. Cook the onion and minced garlic for about 5 minutes, or until the onion softens, then add in the tomatoes, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Reduce the heat and simmer the sauce for about 20 minutes, then set aside.

Prepare the squash: Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the squash cubes and the whole garlic cloves with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle with the thyme; sprinkle with salt and pepper as desired. (I used only pepper.) Spread on a large baking pan (10 by 17 inches) and bake until soft, about 15 minutes. (Note: The squash won't cook that fast if your cubes are larger than the 1/2-inch dice.) Let the squash and garlic cool a bit, then puree them in a food processor and set aside.

Prepare the kale: Bring about 3 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Remove the center ribs from the kale leaves. Discard the ribs and boil the kale leaves for about 5 minutes or until soft. Drain, let cool, then squeeze out as much water as possible from the leaves. Chop the leaves finely.

Prepare the noodles: Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add the lasagna noodles, a few at a time, to keep the water boiling. Cook the noodles for about 10 minutes, or as directed on the packaging, until tender. Drain the noodles and rinse with cold water. Separate the noodles and lay out on wax paper to keep them from sticking to one another.

Prepare the cheese: Mix together the ricotta cheese, nutmeg, 1 cup of mozzarella, and another 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Set aside.

Assemble the lasagna: Layer the components in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish in this order, spreading the layers as evenly as possible:

• 1.5 cups tomato sauce
• 3 noodles
• All of the squash
• One-half of the kale
• 3 noodles
• All of the ricotta cheese mixture
• All of the remaining kale
• 3 noodles
• Remaining tomato sauce
• Remaining 1 cup mozzarella (or a bit less, depending on taste)

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the juices are bubbling. Add 10 to 15 minutes to the baking time if the lasagna has been pre-assembled and refrigerated. Let the lasagna stand 10 minutes before slicing.

Apple Notes and a Squash Recipe

The farm season is truly over now: It snowed here. Yeesh! That's all the more reason to be warming up the kitchen with some cooking. So here are a few notes before I take a short hiatus from CSA posts:

• Applesauce is a wonderful thing. I made a couple of batches in the past week, using up 8 pounds of apples. Applesauce Cake is not far behind.

• I tried out this Sweet Apple Pie Bread earlier this week. It's a quick bread--not especially pie-like--but it's virtually fat-free, especially if you use a skim milk-and-vinegar substitute for buttermilk. Watch out for the way the measurements are written: 1 "T" means a teaspoon of baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon, and not a tablespoon.

• Searching for something to do with fish, I came across Teriyaki Trout with Snappy Apple Salsa by The Crispy Cook. Oooooh, this was tasty. I used Arctic char instead of Steelhead trout, and I didn't marinate the fish for more than 15 minutes, but it worked. The salsa features apple and fennel, which I found I liked despite not being overly fond of licorice. (I had plenty of leftover fennel, so I sliced and roasted it with parsnips and carrots for another dinner this week. I told you I was cooking.)

• With the sudden turn to cold weather, I had a craving for soup. What a good way to use up my final container of Hubbard squash puree! This recipe is liberally adapted from one in the Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant cookbook. If you don't have a Hubbard squash (sigh), try butternut or acorn. (I bet it would work with pumpkin, too.) Roast, boil or steam the squash to get the cooked pulp.

Squash Soup
(Inspired by Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant)

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1.5 cups water
1 apple, peeled and diced
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 cups cooked squash pulp
1.5 cups tomato juice
0.5 cups orange juice
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large pot. Saute onion and spices until onion is translucent. Add water, apple and celery, cover and simmer about 10 minutes.

Remove bay leaves. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the onion mixture to a food processor. Puree the onion mixture and squash and return to the liquid in the pot. Add the tomato juice and orange juice and mix well. Gently reheat. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Week 17: An Ode to the Mother Hubbard

THIS WEEK'S HIT: Caribbean Chicken Stew

As much as we joke about Swiss chard around here, the real story of last year's CSA season was winter squash. We received 22 of them from mid-September through mid-October, including two Blue Hubbards that together weighed about 24 pounds. (That's the 9-pounder in the photo.) We ate squash roasted with herbs and stewed with spices. Cubed and curried. And when we couldn't keep up any longer by eating them fresh, we made squash puree that we could freeze. You can get two cups of puree from a 1-pound squash, so by the time we broke into our second Hubbard (in early November; these things can be kept for a while), we were swimming in squash.

Thus began our squash distribution project. Defrosted puree became squash bread, squash muffins, squash butter, spiced squash at Thanksgiving, and squash latkes at Chanukah. If you were a guest in my home anytime from last November through this past June, you were served something with squash in it. If I was a guest in your home, I brought along something with squash in it.

I bring this up because here we are, a day away from the end of the 2009 season, and I have received only two winter squash (both butternut). It's safe to say there is no way I'm going to get 22 squash from the CSA this year, and that makes me a little sad, even if I'm also a little relieved. So I salute thee, Hubbards of yore, and think: Maybe next season.

Aside from the squash, we received a full CSA bag this week: apples (baked); corn (boiled); plum tomatoes (sandwiches); eggplant (Parmesan); and green beans (marinated). Last week's butternut was cubed, tossed with a little olive oil, and roasted. This week's butternut was cubed and tossed with chicken and spices for a quick stew.

Caribbean Chicken Stew
(adapted from USA Weekend recipe)

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp nutmeg
1 red chili pepper, seeds removed and sliced
1 bay leaf
1 can (14.4 ounces) diced tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth or water
3 cups cooked, shredded chicken
2 cups butternut squash, cubed (half a squash)
1 can black beans (15.5 ounces), drained and rinsed

In a large pot, heat oil. Add onion, green pepper, garlic and saute 3 minutes. Add spices and saute 3 minutes longer. Add tomatoes, broth or water, chicken, squash, and beans. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer, covered, 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve with couscous or rice.