Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Butternut Squash Duxelles Casserole


Even though I'm not an exclusive Vegetarian anymore, I still prefer to eat vegetarian meals more often than not. I try to be a creative vegetarian because so many meals are centered around meat. I have many great resources to help me out, including the Moosewood Cookbooks and my subscription to Vegetarian Times magazine. As I was flipping through last month's issue, this recipe jumped out at me. It combined 3 of my favorite ingredients, squash, mushrooms and gruyere cheese. One thing that makes being a vegetarian easier is the lack of calories and fat from meat can be made up by using a lot of cheese!
This recipe was fantastic! I wish I had more squash, I doubled the duxelles (just because I had 16 oz. mushrooms), but not the squash. The contrast of flavors were great, but they married well. Overall, this was a great dish that I plan to make again!

Butternut Squash Duxelles Casserole
From February, 2010 Vegetarian Times Magazine

8 oz. buttom mushrooms
2 shallots
1 1/2 teaspoons butter
1 tablespoon fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons flour
1 garlic clove
3/4 cup gruyere cheese, grated
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
2 1/2 lbs butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/8-inch slices

Pulse mushrooms in food processor until finely chopped. Transfer to bowl.
Plus shallots in food processor until finely chopped. Add to bowl with the mushrooms.
Melt butter in skillet and cook mushroom mixture about 10 minutes -- until mushrooms have released their liquid and most has evaporated and the shallots are starting to brown. Season with salt and pepper.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease 9" deep-dish pie pan or gratin dish.
Bring milk, flour, and garlic to a simmer in saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly.
Whisk in 1/2 c cheese and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper.
Spread 1/3 of squash slices on bottom of pan. Top with 1/3 cheese mixture and 1/2 of mushroom mixture.
Repeat layers, ending with cheese sauce.
Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Bake 45 minutes or until squash is tender and top is browned.
Let stand 10 minutes before serving

5 comments:

Sophie @ yumventures said...

Looks delicious! You can never go wrong with Gruyere cheese =)

Karen said...

This sounds like a delicious recipe. Love butternut!

kelly said...

Sounds comforting and perfectly appropriate for the season.

Unknown said...

This sounds amazing!! I love butternut squash and mushrooms but have never had them together. Thanks for sharing :)

Joanne said...

Honestly, I would take cheese over meat ANYDAY. Except maybe for pulled pork.

Your vegetarian meals are always interesting! And delicious. This one is making me drool all over my computer. Just so you know.