Yes, its Yotam Ottolenghi again. I have had his Plenty Cookbook on my brain the last few days, and have been sighing over these super delicious recipes . Thanks to my little balcony herb garden, I had all the makings for his Crusted Baked Pumpkin -except that I didn’t have pumpkin! There was however this gorgeous small Butternut squash that I got at Namdharis’ last week. I had broccoli carrot soup just made today and these baked wedges of squash were the perfect accompaniment. Voila (or something like that) – here’s my recipe for Baked Squash crusted with Parmesan and Herbs.
The recipe mostly follows Ottolenghi’s Crusted Pumpkin Wedges recipe, except that I use either an orange skinned squash or a butternut squash instead of a Pumpkin, and generally skip the sour cream in favour of fresh goats cheese. I also add a pinch of nutmeg and it goes well with the flavours of the Parmesan. Serve the baked squash slices with hot soup to round it off into a satisfying meal.
The Baked Squash recipe is an easy one, once you have sliced the squash and prepared the herb parmesan mix. You may use herbs as available to you. My little balcony herb garden is doing well and I have fresh mint, parsley, rosemary, basil available to me most of the year, so I am able to take my pick. Dry herbs would do as well of course.
Be generous with the lemon zest, it gives just that final flavour kick to the Baked squash.
Take an evenly shaped Squash or Pumpkin, with a bright orange skin to give a colourful look to the dish.
There was a time when I disliked pumpkin (or squash) actively. That was before I discovered roasting or baking them. Now they are a part of my menu several times a week, in salads, soups or in tasty dinners like this one with baked squash and a hot soup like a tomato soup or my favourite broccoli cheddar soup.
If you liked this recipe, you might like to try some pumpkin recipes from this blog:
Roasted pumpkin soup with Indian Spices
Roasted pumpkin rocket pomegranate salad
Baked Squash crusted with Parmesan & Herbs
Ingredients
- 1 medium butternut squash - sliced into crescents
- 2 tbsps Breadcrumbs - dry
- 1/4 cup Parmesan - grated
- 3 tablespoons parsley - Fresh (minced)
- 2 tablespoons thyme - Fresh (minced)
- 2 cloves garlic - crushed
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon pepper - (freshly ground)
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon dill or mint leaves - minced
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice - freshly squeezed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C ( about 375 F). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and grease the same lightly.
- Mix together the breadcrumbs, grated parmesan, fresh and minced thyme and parsley, crushed garlic, nutmeg and half the lemon zest.
- Add salt sparingly and taste for salt, as the cheese is already salted. Add half the ground pepper and mix well. Spread the mixture on a plate so it is easy to apply on the sliced squash.
- Retain the peel and slice the Squash into half inch thick, crescent shaped slices. If the squash is evenly rounded, the slices will follow the natural shape and you can cut them out easily.
- Brush the slices of squash on both sides with olive oil and dip each side of each slice into the herbed breadcrumbs and cheese mixture. Let the mixture generously coat each side and gently press down for an even and thick coating.
- Arrange the herbed squash on the baking tray and place in the oven. Roast the squash for 30 minutes or until the slices have cooked through. Gently stick a fork into a slice to check that the squash is cooked well and is tender.
- Remove from the oven. and transfer the slices to a broad serving dish or plate. Sprinkle dill, salt and pepper to taste and lemon juice, as well as the reserved lemon zest, on the squash wedges, and serve hot.
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