- 1 small butternut, or other orange winter squash
- Heaps and heaps of frozen spinach
- Onions
- 1/2 c heavy cream (or ricotta, for less fat)
- 4 eggs cinnamon + nutmeg + black pepper + dash salt
Cut squash into halves or quarters, and steam until soft enough to
scoop out seeds and peel.
Saute spinach with onions until onions transparent and spinach thawed.
Scramble eggs and mix with heavy cream.
Mash up squash in a bowl with spices.
Then stir in cream, eggs, and spinach.
Butter a baking dish.
Pour in the mixture and top with cheese!
Bake at 350F (uh, something celcius?) for 20 mins or until firm and
edges are browning (and cheese is crisping).
Say, how do you steam your squash? I used a Hokkaido pumpkin and softened it in the microwave. I.e., cut it in half; scooped out the seeds; filled the hollow 2/3 of the way with water; placed each half in a bowl; microwave for six minutes each.
ReplyDeleteIt came out pretty well, although it was pretty touch-and-go trying to scoop a hot, soft gourd. I'd be happy to discover other methods!
Mmm, the pans are cooling on the counter... I can't wait to try it!
Actually, I do it about the same! Use a broadsword (or samurai, if available) to slice the gourd in halves or quarters. Then place skin-down in the steamer, cover, and steam for 20mins or so, depending on the size of the gourd. Usually have to add more water about halfway through. And yes, the subsequent scooping is quite hot on the fingers! There must be a better way...
ReplyDeleteAs long as your Kürbis is pretty sweet, it should be okay. I think you don't want traditional pumpkin for this, as it tends to be starchy and stringy without a lot of processing; butternuts and acorn squashes work well. But I think the Japanese winter squashes should be great, too, most of my experience with them is that they're quite sweet and rich orange.
Oh! And I bet you could use ricotta cheese or yogurt if you wanted something lower fat than cream. But I love dairy fat, so usually go for the cream. :P
Mmmm, we just dined on this goodness for dinner! It was great, esp. with a lamb's lettuce salad. I think Bert was a bit surprised at the sweet/savory combination (he's not much used to squashes outside of a soup context) but I was in heaven. Hokkaido is indeed a very sweet gourd, and went great with the sauteed onions.
ReplyDeleteBecause I apparently don't own a casserole dish, I used my brand-new pie pans, which gave me some ideas for next time: und zwar, I think I'll make a crust of butter and whatever-flour to line the bottom; then add brown beans and parmesan to the inside ingredients, too.
I'll let everyone know how it comes out!
(Eh, we're not allergic to milkfat, either. Although ricotta, being nice 'n' tangy, might be pretty tasty!)
ReplyDeleteA crust is a great idea! Then it's more of a pie... I was just thinking there should be some variations on this to give it a little more structure and ballast. Mine came out very creamy, which is fine (I'm okay with casseroliness), but breadcrumbs or noodles would probably be welcome for those who don't eschew wheat.
ReplyDeleteHm, should look into what the Greeks do to make spinach pie... maybe cheese instead of cream?
Another idea: instead of mashing the squash, how about slicing and layering them like a lasagna? Alternate squash and creamed spinach layers... oh man, now I gotta try all this and post a version 2.
ReplyDeleteYeahyeahyeahyeah! (vigorous nodding)
ReplyDelete