Squash and Sweet Potatoes in the Oven

It really feels like the season has changed to winter now. We've been getting rain, which is such a great thing since I live where most of our rainfall for the whole year happens between October and March, with the majority of that between December and February...when things are 'normal'. Unfortunately things haven't been that way for most of the last six years, with too little rain most years, so rain is even more welcome when it comes.

I spoke with my North Carolina sister Saturday... a belated birthday phone call...and they were expecting lots of snow that night and Sunday. Sure enough, I checked the news Sunday morning and they were calling it Snowmagedden. She stayed home by the fire and took it easy...a good plan. We are both missing our mother. The anniversary of her death comes up in a few days and we will toast Mom on Wednesday, and those doing the toast will include at least one other sibling, maybe more. She was an excellent Mom and, in later years, friend and she is always in my heart.

As the weather has gotten colder I've been spending more time in the kitchen, too. The cooler weather makes me want to bake and cook. I've made pea soup and lamb shanks. Neither was different from the posts, so not including the recipe, just the link. The squash and sweet potato dish that accompanied the leftover lamb shanks is a different take on a favorite. This time I didn't use butternut squash, just delicata squash and I used slices of peeled sweet potato to fill out the dish. The coating was different, too, with citrus peel and not very much cayenne pepper this time. It's a great dish with ham or chicken or turkey and it went well with the lamb shank, too.

Although this dish is roasted, not baked, it still is done in the oven and so I decided that it fit well enough with my December Baking theme. The slices of sweet potato and squash should be about the same thickness.

Delicata Squash and Sweet Potatoes with Olive Oil and Maple
Serve 4-6

2-3 cups peeled sweet potato, quartered and cut in slices
1 Delicata squash, seeds removed, peel removed if desired, cut in half and sliced
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons real maple syrup
1/8 teaspoon dried orange peel in tiny pieces1/8 teaspoon dried powdered lemon peel
1/8 teaspoon marjoram
a dash cayenne pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

In a large plastic bag (I used clean produce bags from the market), combine the squash, olive oil, salt and pepper, maple syrup and dried peels and spices. Close bag tightly and shake to completely coat the squash with the wet ingredients and spices.

Pour coated mixture on the parchment lined sheet pan and use the bag to spread the squash and potato slices out in the pan into a single layer.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Use a spatula to turn the squash pieces over, then roast an additional 10 - 15 minutes until edges are browned and vegetables is softened.

Serve while hot.

Fall Flavors in a Crust

Recently I came across a recipe online that looked really perfect for fall. It was for a crostata filled with Italian sausage, fresh oregano, ricotta, honey and delicata squash. Although the recipe called for making your own buckwheat pie crust, I went with super easy but still tasty ReadyCrust by Pillsbury. I used almond milk ricotta by Kite Hill instead of regular dairy ricotta, but otherwise pretty much followed the recipe. Delicata squash is a great winter squash with a mild flavor and you don't need to peel it, which eases prep time, plus it bakes up tender and moister than acorn squash, which is also a short-time keeper squash.

Well, other than the fact that I only filled half of the crostata with the sausage/squash mixture. The other half had a filling I made up, inspired by the fresh figs that I received from a friend. The second filling included bacon, red onions cooked in the bacon fat, chicken, the fresh figs, chopped walnuts and reduced balsamic vinegar. Those ingredients went on the ricotta filling from the other recipe. After baking, the sausage half was drizzled with honey and the chicken half with the balsamic vinegar syrup. Do find ripe fresh figs for this filling...they make all the difference and are such a wonderful fall fruit.

I have to say that I liked the chicken version better, mostly because the flavors were intense and more layered, but the sausage side was delicious, too. Sweetie and I each had a small wedge of each kind plus a huge green salad for dinner and saved the rest for the weekend.

You could choose one filling or the other and make a whole free form pie with it, or do as I did and make half and half. If you have a crowd to feed, make a whole pie of one filling and a whole pie with the other. If you make this could you let me know what you think? If you create your own filling, could you tell me about it in the comments? Part of the fun of doing posts is getting the feedback. Even if you don't comment, I hope you make one or both fillings and enjoy these rich and delightful flavors of fall.

Two Fillings Fall Crostata
Inspired by a recipe by Dana Frand and Andrea Slowecker of Food and Wine

1/2 package pie crusts like Pillsbury ReadyCrust (or make your own favorite pie crust recipe)
Sausage Filling -Note: The following makes enough sausage filling for a whole pie. If using for half a pie cut ingredients in half or save second half for another use.
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 oz. mild Italian sausage bulk (or remove from casings)
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
1 delicata squash, halved, seeded and sliced very thinly (you may only need half the squash)
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
honey to drizzle

Chicken Filling - Note:Chicken filling is enough for half a pie. If using for a whole pie, double the amounts.
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 slices bacon, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
1 cup chopped, cooked chicken
1-2 fresh figs, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons toasted walnuts, chopped

For both
2 cups ricotta
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
Flaky sea salt like Maldon

Roll out one of the pie crusts on a lightly flour work surface to 15 inches in diameter. Place on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment. Cover with plastic wrap and chill while you make the fillings.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Sausage Filling- In a large frying pan heat oil over medium-high heat. Brown the sausage in the olive oil, stirring in the fennel right away so that it gets browned, too, about 15 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to break up the sausage into small pieces.Remove from heat and add the squash slices, black pepper and salt. Stir to combine, then set aside.

Chicken Filling - In a small, wide pan or skillet heat the balsamic over very low heat, stirring every two to three minutes if needed, until reduced and syrupy. Set aside.
In a large skillet brown the bacon, then remove with a slotted spoon to a paper-towel lined plate. Cook the red onions in the bacon fat until browned, then use slotted spoon to remove them to the same plate as the bacon. Reserve bacon fat for another use or discard.

Ricotta Filling - In a medium bowl combine the ricotta, oregano, honey and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Remove chilled dough from fridge and spread with the ricotta filling, leaving a 2-3-inch border.
Scatter squash filling over half and on the other half evenly place or spread the bacon, onion, chicken and figs, then scatter walnuts even over that half. Drizzle lightly with the balsamic syrup.

Fold the border without filling up and over the filling, pleating as necessary so that it encloses the filling. Brush lightly with beaten egg and sprinkle generously with the sea salt.

Bake in the preheated oven until browned and crisp. Check at 30 minutes but it may take up to 45 minutes. Remove from oven and drizzle the squash half with honey and the chicken half with the balsamic syrup. Scatter fresh oregano leaves over all and serve at once.

Squash and Maple Syrup - A Match Made for Roasting

Went to a wonderful birthday party yesterday. The birthday girl combines kindness, consideration, imagination, artistic talent, literary talent, high intelligence, beauty inside and out, with gratitude, love and grace in amounts unusual in an 18 year old. She is a winner in so many ways.

A nice aspect of the party was that Sweetie and I got to meet her neighbors and friends and adults who have been a wonderful part of her journey to adulthood. Thank you Natasha. Lots of fun discussions took place, including one about this blog. I mentioned a recipe I first made a few years ago, which has become a favorite. It includes Delicata squash, olive oil, spices and maple syrup. Often I make it with those and some yams. Today I used butternut squash, so it was very squashy and good. I like using Moroccan spices with it but today used Zatar, which includes sumac, thyme, white sesame seed and salt. It was delicious with the squash.

The seeds are easily removed from the halved squash with a melon ball tool.

Sometimes I leave the skin on the delicata squash as I did today, but that is usually when I grew it myself as I did this one. When I get it from the market, or just want all the squash to be soft (because the skin does get chewy and a bit crackly), I peel the thin skin off with a paring tool. I used that tool for peeling the butternut squash, which works very well.

This is a sweet/savory dish and is great when the weather starts to cool off enough to roast things in the oven. We served it with grilled chicken and a tomato/cucumber salad with a red wine vinaigrette.
The squash is soft and delicious, with bits that are browned and a little chewy and totally wonderful. Give it a try. You might become a squash convert.

Delicata and Butternut Squash with Olive Oil and Maple
Serve 4-6

2-3 cups peeled, cubed butternut squash, seeds, if any, removed
1 Delicata squash, seeds removed, peel removed if desired, cut in half and sliced
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons real maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon zatar spice mix, or your favorite mix of spices that are warm (cardamom, curry, coriander, etc)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

In a large plastic bag (I used clean produce bags from the market), combine the squash, olive oil, salt and pepper, maple syrup and zatar spices. Close bag tightly and shake to completely coat the squash with the wet ingredients and spices.

Pour coated mixture on the parchment lined sheet pan and use the bag to spread the squash out in the pan into a single layer.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Use a spatula to turn the squash pieces over, then roast an additional 10 - 15 minutes until edges are browned and squash is softened.

Serve while hot.

Root Veg Duo Harvest Meal

When I went to a local farm market this week they had the most beautiful delicata squash, so I bought a couple. I grew them year before last and have been in love with them ever since. For a winter squash they have a very thin skin so they are easy to prepare and they have a nice smooth texture when cooked and are just a little sweet and with a delicate squash flavor. They are pretty in an arrangement on your table, too, with a torpedo shape and nice green, yellow and rust stripes.

For dinner the other night I cut them in half, scooped out the seeds, then peeled them with a vegetable peeler. I cut them in slices which looks sort of crescent shaped.

Because I was going to roast them in a hot oven, I decided to peel and chunk up some garnet yam for the other half of the sheet pan. I tossed the peeled chunks into a plastic produce bag, added about a couple of teaspoons of olive oil, then a grinding of Moroccan spices. After I shook the yams to coat them with the oil and spices, they went on to a sheet pan which was lined with s silicone mat.

I took the delicata squash crescents and put them into the produce bag, added some more olive oil and freshly ground black pepper and about a tablespoon of maple syrup. I shook them up until all the squash pieces were coated, then put them on the other half of the sheet pan. All of the pieces of veggies were in a single layer.

After roasting for 10 minutes, I turned all the pieces over, using a spatula, so that the other side would brown. It took about another 10 minutes and they were all cooked through and had some lovely brown spots. I served them mixed together and Sweetie had grilled some turkey sausages, so we had a nice, easy meal, full of flavor and warm colors. Sweetie wants me to make the yam and squash duo for Thanksgiving. Hope your hostess wants me to bring a side dish!