I don't remember when it happened, but sometime in the past year I developed a love for butternut squash. I like the smooth texture and sweetness. Until now, I usually only made it into soup to be enjoyed in winter. But thanks to Melissa Joulwan, the writer of my favorite paleo cook book Well Fed: Paleo Recipes for People Who Love to Eat I now have a new absolutely favorite way to eat butternut squash! (FYI, she has a bloggy blog too...check it out!)
Velvety Butternut Squash:
1 butternut squash
Water, 2 tablespoons or so
1 head of garlic (yes the whole thing)
1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 tablespoons coconut milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons Ras el Hanout
1 egg
1/4 pecan halves, chopped up roughly
1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Chop the butternut squash in half length ways. Peel the skin off the garlic, all of the cloves. Put the garlic into a little piece of foil and make it into a packet. Place the butternut squash open side down onto a cookie sheet that is lined with foil. Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of water around the squash. Bake the squash and the garlic for 30-40 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the Ras el Hanout if you do not already have some. I love this spice because it has such a distinct yet totally random flavor.
3. When the butternut squash is done, let it cool for about 10-15 minutes until you can handle holding it. Scrap the nice and soft innards into a blender of food processor Add the roasted garlic (which has probably made your entire house smell delicious). Blend the squash and garlic until smooth.
4. Add everything else except the egg and the pecans. Taste and adjust seasoning as you see fit (sometimes I add a little more coconut milk as I love, love the flavor combination or sometimes a little extra salt and pepper). Once it is satisfactory, dump it into a bowl.
5. Crack the egg into a little bowl and whip it around for a second, so it's blended. Add it to the butternut squash and mix together. Pour the mixture into a greased Pyrex dish. Sprinkle the pecans on top.
6. Bake at 400° until it starts to bubble around the edges. You're basically heating it through again and cooking the added egg. it takes about 30 minutes.
Enjoy! It's freaking fantastic and so easy.
As I wind to the end of the 30 day Paleo challenge, I realized that there was one dish I hadn't yet tried out. Kale.
Although I've eaten a lot of it in the past, I found that I haven't cooked it for myself in a long while. After the Winter of Kale, I have a hard time making kale voluntarily. But this recipe is certainly interesting.
[I made this meal with only one recipe, the creamy kale. The Sole and asparagus I did myself.]
Almond-Herb Crusted Sole:
Almonds, enough to make about a cup of almond meal
Dried oregano
Salt and pepper
Granulated garlic
Red pepper flakes
4 Sole fillets
Egg
Coconut Oil, for frying
1. Place almonds in a food processor or blender. Blend until it becomes meal. This will act as your bread crumbs, and believe me you can barely tell the difference.
2. Season the almond meal with salt, pepper, garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes and any other spice you want to throw in there (maybe cayenne and cumin for a Mexican feel or Chinese 5 Spice, which is a new favorite spice for me).
3. Whisk an egg on a plate, this is for dredging your Sole fillets. Bread each fillet and put aside.
4. Heat your pan on med-high until the pan is very hot (not going to lie, our pan was smoking it was so hot but we turned the heat down once we started cooking).
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| It's ok to be jealous. |
5. Fry the Sole depending on how thick your fillets are. Our fillets were very thin, which is why we made 2 each, and fried them for maybe 30-45 seconds each side.
Lemon Asparagus with Garlic:
Asparagus
3 cloves of garlic
Olive Oil, for sauteing
Lemon wedges
Salt and pepper
1. Heat olive oil in a pan, add garlic and asparagus when the pan is hot.
2. When asparagus is bright green, it is cooked. I like to drain my asparagus on paper towels so they aren't oily on my plate. Then I squeeze lemon wedges over the asparagus and season with salt and pepper. It's simple, easy and quick. And fantastic!
Creamy Spiced Kale:
1 head of kale
2 teaspoons Ras el Hanout
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon coconut oil
1/2 cup coconut milk
1. Wash your kale, removing any stalk with a sharp knife. Don't dry the leaves, a little water will only work in your favor.
2. Heat a pan on med-high, add kale and stir a few times. The water on the leaves is going to steam the kale in this process. Stir occasionally, careful not to burn the leaves like I did, until they begin to wilt.
3. Combine the Ras el Hanout and the garlic. Once the kale is wilting, push the mound to one side of the pan. Add the coconut oil and spices together. Let them cook, just the oil and spices, for about 20 seconds to release the flavors.
4. Briskly stir the spiced oil into the kale leaves. Quickly add the coconut milk to the pan. This will help the kale not burn..like mine did...
5. Let the mixture simmer for a while, until the leaves are to a texture you like and the coconut milk thickens.
[NOTE: In regards to the Ras el Hanout, which I had never heard of until now but it is very interesting. I wouldn't add the entire measure of cayenne pepper. When I made more of this spice, I will probably add half that amount. I found that my mouth was on fire for a long long time when I made my kale and Jake had to finish if for me. So maybe add less if you're sensitive and add extra spice later if you need it.]
Homemade Tartar Sauce:
Homemade mayo
Pickles
Shallots
Vinegar
1. Place a few tablespoons of your homemade mayo in a bowl. Add finely chopped pickles and shallots (essentially add how ever much you want, it depends how chunky you want your tartar sauce). Splash vinegar into the bowl, don't add too much at first. Add then taste. You can always add more but you can't take vinegar out.
