APPLE and SQUASH Casserole
Submitted by gregory on Fri, 2006-10-13 08:02.
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Ingredients
- 2 to 3 Cups cooked, mashed up WINTER SQUASH*
- 2 ONIONS
- 1 tsp dried THYME (or any mix o' herbs)
- 2 Cups of skin-on, chopped or sliced APPLES (toss 'em in a little lemon juice to prevent discoloring)
- 1 to 1.5 Cups grated CHEDDAR CHEESE
- 2 TBS Breadcrumbs
- Salt and Pepper
*Any winter squash will work: Spaghetti, Butternut, Kabocha, Banana, Sugar Pumpkin... Use leftovers or steam, boil, roast, bake or microwave some squash and lightly smash it. Personally, I love cutting up squash, tossing in in a little olive oil and baking it in the oven at 350° for about 45 minutes or until it's soft....then i have heaps of the stuff to eat anytime and anyway! Soemtimes I add a little brown sugar and cinammon to sweeten the beast!
Method
BEHOLD! The mysterious pairing of apples and cheese! This casserole, or gratin, is truly amazing, easy and mega delicious!!!
Set your oven to bake at 375° and slice up your onions--you want about 2 Cups. Add about a TBS of olive oil to a hot pan and sauté those babies! Add 1 TSP of dry THYME or use any combo of herbs you have lying around. Reduce the heat to medium and let it ride for a good 7 minutes, stirring occassionally...you want the onions to get sweat, get fragrant and caramelize.
While the onions are a cooking, get yourself some sort of an oven-proof casserole dish. On the show I used a small pyrex glass one. All you have to do is layer the ingredients in there an bake it!
Cover the bottom of the dish with a nice layer of the squash--anywhere btwn 2 and 3 Cups. Add the cooked onions on top of that, spread 'em out to cover the top. Add some cracked black pepper and sea salt...i dunno, a half teaspoon each? Sure! NEXT add your chopped up apples. Again, spread these over the top...you want to cover the onions which are covering the squash. In a bowl toss a good 2 TBS of bread crumbs in with your cheese and spread this mix on top of the apples--you want a good even layer of the cheese covering the dish 'coz THAT IS IT!
Bake this baby for 45 minutes. EAT IT UP!
Fantastic and filling.
We were so impressed with this dish! Great Job Gregory! I had mine cheese-less ala vegan and savored at least as much as Kara did with her extra-cheese. You were right, the flavors are diverse and complimentary. It kept my taste buds engaged to the last bite. Sweet apples, red onions and squash; a new favorite. This was my first time adding bread crumbles on top of anything and I'm hooked. We had it 2 nights in a row and I only wish we doubled the recipe!
Keep Rocking the Kitchen Man!