I’m often asked if I am still writing my blog, or if I am still cooking. The answer to both questions is yes! Both look quite different from the earliest days on the blog, however. Ten years ago when I started The Kitchen Scout, one of my daughters was still in high school and meals were much more structured. Fast forward to year six on the blog, we were hit with the pandemic, forcing all of us to cook whether we wanted to or not! Lots of Kitchen Scouting in those days.
And now, with the exception of an occasional visit home or holiday celebration, dinner time is just myself and the hubs. Not every dinner time is blog worthy, or cooked at home! Sometimes, I just revert back to that formula of old: Protein + Vegetable + Salad and while boring, its satisfying! That’s pretty much the way my mother cooked for us throughout my childhood and there is something comforting about that structure from time to time.
Sidenote, may I share that I have a new computer and it wants to finish my sentences? As a writer, this is driving me mad and I need to figure out how to turn off this option!!!
Recently, I borrowed a cookbook from the library after waiting for it since early Spring. Nicoise: Market Cooking from France’s Sunniest City is written by Rosa Jackson who has run a cooking school in Nice for 20 years after spending time as a restaurant critic in Paris. What a job!
Well, it has received many wonderful reviews and unfortunately, I did not have a lot of time to delve into it too deeply before it was time to return the book. However, I did take note of a Baked Butternut Squash dish named Tian de Courgette that looked very appealing.
I made the Tian last week to serve alongside some pork chops and it was delicious. We ate it for leftovers both heated up and at room temperature and I do think it improved with a day or two.
Butternut squash is cooked until very tender in just a bit of olive oil, while white short grain rice (in this case, Arborio) is boiled until al dente. The cooked squash and rice are mixed with Parmesan, freshly grated nutmeg, black pepper and two beaten eggs. The mixture is turned out into a tart pan and topped with homemade breadcrumbs that are a combination of fresh parsley, thyme, rosemary, garlic, olive oil and panko breadcrumbs. Rosa makes hers with fresh bread, but I will take any short cut that makes life a bit easier and thought you might appreciate that too!
The breadcrumb recipe makes more than you need, which was actually helpful for me as I decided to make the Tian again and bring it to my book group dinner last night. This time, I changed up a few things by combining both Parmesan and Gruyere for the cheeses. I also beat the eggs quite vigorously to try to create some air and lightness to the dish as my first version was dense. Finally, I added just a splash of light cream to lend a little moisture and dare I say creaminess? My book group friends loved it. We had a pot luck and it was the most beautiful dinner of slow roasted salmon, herbed rice, roasted harissa brussels sprouts with a lemon relish, salad with radicchio, pear and goat cheese and Baba au Rum for dessert. We almost forgot to talk about the book we were so distracted by the food and discussion of Thanksgiving menus!
I think the slight changes I made with the Tian recipe did make for a tastier end result.
If it doesn’t make it to your Thanksgiving table, I would serve this dish with almost any Fall or winter meal or even as a vegetarian main dish. Please let me know if you make it and what you think!
Until next time…
One Year Ago: Thai Shrimp Curry
Two Years Ago: Individual Baked Oatmeal Cups
Three Years Ago: Butternut Squash and Red Lentil Soup
Four Years Ago: Skinny Cheesesteak Skillet
Five Years Ago: Armenian Spinach and Cheese Phyllo Pie (Sou-Boereg)
Six Years Ago: Horiatiki Hummus
Seven Years Ago: In Conversation with Jill Rosenwald
Eight Years Ago: Maple Roasted Carrot Salad
Nine Years Ago: Marcella’s Butter Almond Cake
If you like the flavor of almonds, this is a MUST make.
Ten Years Ago: Fettucine with Lamb Ragu
This recipe is modified ever so slightly from the cookbook Nicoise by Rosa Jackson. I like the combination of Parmesan and Gruyere cheeses in this dish, along with my addition of a splash of cream to lend some richness and textural appeal. If you can use fresh nutmeg, it does make a difference, but ground nutmeg will also work just fine. I hope you enjoy it!
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil plus 1 teaspoon for greasing the baking dish
- 2 pounds butternut squash, or 1 1/2 pounds peeled squash, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/4 cup short-grain or Arborio rice
- 2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan or a combo of Parm and Gruyere
- Splash of light cream
- 1 garlic clove, cut in half lengthwise
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg or to taste
- 2 large eggs, whisked together vigorously
- 3/4 cup Provencal Breadcrumbs (recipe below)
- 1 cup packed flat leaf parsley leaves
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
- 3 1/2 ounces panko breadcrumbs
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a food processor, process the parsley, thyme, rosemary and garlic until finely chopped.
- Add the panko breadcrumbs and using the pulse button, blend until you have coarse bright green breadcrumbs.
- Add the olive oil, season well with salt and pepper, and pulse to just combine.
- Recipe makes about 2 cups and you can store the leftovers in the freezer for another use.
- In a large frying pan, heat 2 Tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the squash and 1 teaspoon of the salt, cover, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the squash has softened and is starting to disintegrate, 20 to 25 minutes. If there is a lot of liquid left toward the end of the cooking, raise the heat to evaporate most of it, but the squash doesn't need to be very dry. If all the liquid evaporates before the squash has softened, add 1/4 cup water and continue cooking, covered, until the squash is done.
- Meanwhile, half-fill a small saucepan with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the rice and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt and boil, uncovered for 10 minutes: the rice should be al dente. Drain and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Rub a 1-inch deep-dish pie plate, preferably ceramic, with the cut garlic clove, then coat with the 1 teaspoon olive oil.
- Place the warm cooked squash in a large bowl and stir in the rice and cheeses. Add pepper to taste and the nutmeg, then adjust the seasoning to your taste. Give the eggs another whisk and then mix them in quickly so that they don't scramble.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared pie plate and top with the breadcrumbs and a generous drizzling of olive oil. Bake for 35 minutes, or until lightly browned on top. Serve warm.
I can’t wait to try this Val and so sorry I missed it! Have you tried it with summer squash/zucchini? I’ve made Julia Child’s tian de courgettes and wouldn’t have thought to substitute butternut squash. How creative!