Butternut Squash & Baby Kale over Farro

I cooked only once this past week (on Wednesday) and, all modesty aside, I have to say with pretty good success. My Tuesday grocery delivery included some pretty fresh-looking broccoli and baby kale that I couldn't wait to put to good use along with a medium butternut squash from a few weeks ago.

I know from experience that the contrast between the sweetness of the squash and the earthiness of the kale works pretty well - I had experimented with this combo, which served as the ingredients of a delicious pasta sauce, a while back.

Since I was looking for a no fuss, quick meal, I started by steaming the squash. I then tossed it with a bit of honey, sea salt, coarsely ground pepper, thyme and rosemary and put it under the broiler for 10-15 minutes.

I forgot to mention that I threw some faro (one of the great ancient grains!) in the rice cooker even before starting on the squash:

I figured that because the broccoli were so fresh, it did not make sense to process them too much. It occurred to me that I can take advantage of the steam that was still coming out of the pot where I had steamed the squash so I put in the broccoli in there (heat was off) for a few minutes to soften them a bit. As you can see in the picture below they appear raw with the green color still appearing quite vibrant. The dressing was simple - a bit of honey, red wine (pinot noir, to be precise) vinegar, high grade EVVO, salt and black pepper.

While the squash was in the oven, I sauteed some minced, leftover teryaki chicken meat balls with some garlic, hot chili pepper flakes and olive oil. In the meantime, I also cleaned and roughly chopped the baby kale.

The kale didn't take too long too cook (again preserving the vibrant green color was of utmost importance).

Once the kale was done I added the nicely roasted squash with charred and caramelized edges.I mixed everything well to integrate the flavors and proceeded to spoon the cooked faro into the bowls. A little trick that I like to use to kick the taste up a notch is stirring a bit of butter and parmesan into the grains for extra je-ne-sais-quoi. An unintended side effect - they seem to photograph better this way too (compare vs. rice cooker picture).

...I topped the farro with the kale+squash and happily chowed it all down.

Squasagna ... or the perfect squash lasagna

My friend SVM has inspired me with this dish. I have borrowed her *squasagna* recipe and have modified it to fit my cooking style and eating / taste buds habits. I am a firm believer that recipes should be regarded as guidelines only, and not as strict rules, and often times I have hard time sticking to a recipe (hence my dislike for baking...). So without further ado, let me present you with my interpretation of Squash Lasagna:

0. I used no-boil lasagna noodles. They work just fine and shorten your cooking time by at least 30% (guesstimate).



1. Squash filling:

• 3 butternut squashes, peeled and cubed
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, smashed
• spices: thyme, sage, chives, basil
• seasonings: salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, cube of vegetable bouillon (dissolved in 1 cup water)

What to do:
Sautee the onions and garlic in olive oil over medium heat for 10 min, or until soft and translucent. Add salt and pepper to taste and add some thyme, chives, and sage. Then transfer to a bowl and set aside. In the same pan that you cook the onions, add the cubed squash and 1 cup of vegetable bouillon and cook on high heat until the squash is soft to the point that you can mash it with a fork (~15 min). Add salt, black and cayenne pepper, sage, thyme, chives and basil (don't be afraid to add a lot of spices... :) Once the squash is ready, remove from heat and mash it with a fork and mix it with the onions. It is a good idea to taste the mixture and make sure it is adequately seasoned.



2. Cheese mix:

• 15 oz ricotta cheese
• 2/3 lb mozzarella cheese, shredded (save ~1/2 cup aside to use as final topping of the noodles)
• 1/4 lb pecorino romano cheese, shredded
• sage, thyme, chives, basil
• salt, black pepper to taste

Mix the cheeses and spices together in a large bowl. Add salt and black pepper to taste.

3. Bechamel sause:

• 2 table spoons butter
• 2 table spoons flour
• 1.5 cups milk
• 1 cup water
• salt and black pepper to taste.

In a small pot, melt the butter over low heat. Then add the flour and whisk quickly so no chunks remain. Then, while constantly stirring, slowly pour the milk and the water. Add salt and pepper and bring to a gentle boil in ~ 10 min.




Assembling the lasagna:

1. At the bottom of your baking pan, pour 1/2 of the Bechamel sause and then put the first layer of noodles.



2. Then layer the noodles with the squash filling and the cheese mix:

• noodles
• squash filling
• noodles
• cheese mix
• noodles
• squash filling
• noodles etc..

3. Cover the top layer of noodles with shredded mozzarella and pour the rest of the Bechamel sauce over the lasagna.



4. Bake at 375F for 40 min and enjoy!