I'm not going to pretend to have invented this recipe myself; I took it almost verbatim from epicurious. However, I changed a few of the proportions and the cooking temperature, so I feel like there are enough differences to warrant a retyping (though I'm leaving the link in just in case the original sounds better to you).
Ben and I had this last Thanksgiving when we were able to cook together, and this year both of us cooked it separately for our friends/families. So far, it's been popular wherever it went, and I'm definitely making it again (just as soon as I can find leeks and butternut squash at the grocery store--for some reason both places I went today were frustratingly squashless).
You'll need:
1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 3/4- to 1-inch cubes
Olive oil
Coarse salt
2 T (1/2 stick) butter, divided
2 t white or black pepper
3 cups leeks, cut finely
3 t chopped fresh sage, rubbed
1 5.5-ounce log soft fresh goat cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted, husked, coarsely chopped
Preparation:1. Preheat the oven to 475˚
2. Place the squash in a large baking dish, pour olive oil, salt, and white pepper on top. Mix.
3. Cook for about half an hour, until the squash is tenderly fork-pokable.
4. While squash is cooking, saute leeks and sage in butter until the mix has cooked down but is not yet brown.
5. When the squash has been removed from the oven, mix the leek mixture in.
6. Lower the oven temperature to 375˚.
7. Layer the squash and leeks, alternating with goat cheese. I started with the squash, then crumbled (well, chevre doesn't really "crumble"... but it doesn't glop or pour, either. I'm at a loss for words) the cheese, and was able to make two more layers of each, with cheese on top.
8. Pour in the cream, making sure that it spreads throughout the dish as evenly as possible.
9. Sprinkle the chopped toasted hazelnuts on top.
10. Bake for about half an hour.
Let the cheesey warmness enfold you in its holiday-licious arms...
No comments:
Post a Comment