Time to Roast... Vegetables

It is sunny, shiny fall here in the NorthWet...err West.  After our dismal spring and June, the sun just won't stop shining.  And it has made for some amazing fall produce.

And a bunch of it is big, pumpkin big, if you know what I mean.

So what to do with it?

Admire it 1st.

Beets, garlic, tomatillos, jalapeños, tomatoes - regular & cherry
radishes and carrots

pie pumpkins, butternut squash, leeks - oh yeah, and the chicken scraps bag

Holy Full Fridge, Batman!  What to do with it all?

Step one - cut it down to size.  Those whole veggies take up a bunch of space.

Step two - dedicate a day to roasting everything into freezable food.  And MUCH of that is done through the magic of roasting.  By driving off excess water, and breaking down the plant cells by tasty cooking, they are all set up to freeze.  If these are frozen raw - the water/chemical balance ends up with mushy and sometimes rotten (blechk!) food.

It's take a big chunk of a day but the longest part of the prep - the roasting - is done (and because it mostly happens at 425˚F) and done together.  Pumpkins and Peppers don't mind sharing oven space with Radishes and Beets.  And while things are roasting you can do lots of other thing - as long as you don't have to leave the house.

So what are the results from a day spent that way?

Tomatillo-Garlic-Jalapeño Sauce

Roast everything until it gets mushy -pull of the stems
peel off the skins,
(optional remove some/all seeds from the jalapeños)
blend them together - add a little salt.
Perfect over leftover mole beef... if you have it.
Lots of other stuff if you don't.

Roasted beets - and other veg

(see the next post for more on beets - or check out some flash backs:

It's Cold Baby!

-or-

Beet Salad - with the goods

-or-

It's Fall - break out the Truffle Salt)

Pumpkin Puree and Roasted Squash Wedges and Chunks

Dedicate the time to making these - and then THERE THEY ARE ready to go into whatever you want 

- things like...

Sweet & Spicy (Butternut) Squash Soup

and the new best thing ...

Pumpkin Mushroom Polenta 

Made lots - freezing this for later use.

(the pumpkin takes the place of the Parmesan - and makes it creamy and savory - and perfect for all stripes of "no dairy" folks -OR- a super way of sneaking in extra veg.)

That is coming up too...

Butternut Squash Pepper Poppers

The challenge: In my house, except for me, squash is OK, only as long as it tends towards the savory and not the sweet.  And crunchy is always preferred.

Hard, because butternut squash for me always reads creamy and sweet - butternut squash risotto with mushrooms and maybe a little bacon/spek/prosciutto/pancetta (you get the idea) is one of MY absolute faves.



So after making some soups - what to do that is squashy, but unexpected....



Fridge search reveals Trader Joe's "Peri Peri Peppadrops,"
 and pecorino cheese. (sweet, spicy, salty... on to something...)

Pine nuts of the new world
as far as I'm concerned.

And the pantry turns up bread crumbs and.... drum roll please... pumpkin seeds - the "pepita" kind.






Sage is invulnerable, and is out there doing just fine.  Leaves please...
but not too many or the whole thing will taste like SOAP!




The recipe:
This should make a nice platter at your next fall party!

Ingredients:
1 jar of the Peri-Peri Peppadrops
about 1lb of butternut squash cubes/wedges (pre cooked... see below)
1/2 C of bread crumbs - unseasoned
1/4+ C pepitas
2 oz Pecorino Romano grated fine (this comes out to over a cup on a microplane type)
3 - 6 sage leaves (depends on size) sliced into tiny ribbons and then chopped again (mined fine)
salt to taste
(oil - olive or other mild/neutral tasting)

Prep:
If your squash is not cooked, preheat the oven to 350.
Toss the squash it with a drizzle of oil & a sprinkle of salt, and bake it in the oven in peeled wedges or cubes no bigger than an inch thick for 20 - 40+ minutes depending on the squash.  Shake and turn it after 15 min to get an idea of how it is doing.  It is done when fork tender (a fork goes in easily.) AND it has some brown on the edges... you want the squash to get a little bit drier than normal for this one.

Use a melon baller to scoop leftover seeds out of the peppers.  Set them up on a tray.

When the squash is cool enough to handle, chop it/smash it into small bits.  Food mill, knife, potato masher or food processor all work (FWIW I used my food mill).
In a large bowl combine the bread crumbs, grated cheese and half the minced sage.
Add in the squash, taste for salt & sage.  If it needs more, add it now.  The flavors should be strong rather than subtle, but not overpowering.

Stuff them into the peppers, and at the last minute push about 3 pepitas into the center of the squash stuffing.

SERVE!  (With a nice bitter beer was one taster's suggestion...  I bet a tart chianti would be a good bet too.  I have to make them again and try...)

P.S. you can add the pepitas into the stuffing mix but they will lose their crunch fairly quickly.