appetizing

Posting this photo on facebook gave me more "likes" than just about anything I've ever done, so I figured it best to give you the recipe. It's barely even a recipe, more like a list of ingredients that you stack on top of each other, broil up for a bit and then eat -preferably alongside a perfect Sapphire Gin and Fever Tree tonic like I did.

Roasted Butternut Crostini
1 french baguette, sliced thinly
2 cups cubed butternut squash, save the rest of the squash for soup
2 t olive oil
1 c  ricotta (go for the good stuff if you have access to fresh ricotta)
10 fresh sage leaves
2 t butter
2 oz manchego cheese
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Place the butternut squash on a cookie sheet, drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast for about 30 min, or until soft and beginning to brown. Meanwhile, put 2 t butter into a saute pan and heat over low. Spread the melted butter evenly in the pan and place the sage leaves in it. When they begin to brown, use tongs and flip each one over. Cook for another minute and place on a plate to cool. In a small bowl, mix 1/2 t salt and 1/4 pepper and the ricotta and spread about a tablespoon onto each slice of bread. Top with a singe cube of squash, a tiny slice of manchego and just a hint of sage. Place all the slices onto your cookie sheet and put under the broiler to melt the cheese. Keep an eye on it, it only take a minute!

Not a squash fan? Try it with sliced pear.

condiments

I've been making a version of this Butternut Squash soup for several years. There are only a few ingredients so putting it together is a cinch. You can roast the vegetables like I did here, but I think it might be easier to do it all in the pot so that's what I recommend. Chop a good sized yellow onion and saute it in a bit of olive oil in a good sized soup pot. Add a teaspoon of curry powder and some salt. Peel and cube a 2-3 lb butternut squash and 2-3 apples (grannysmith or macintosh are good) and throw them all in the pot with 2-3 cups of water or stock. Put on the lid and bring it to a simmer for a good 15+ minutes until the apple and squash are very soft. You can blend the soup with an immersion blender, a traditional blender, a food processor or a food mill. No matter what, you'll probably need more water or stock. You can also add a little apple juice at the end if needed.

In the past I've served it with a bit of yogurt or creme fraiche, but this time we went all out with the condiments. Toasted coconut, cashews and sliced banana were all fantastic. A little spoonful of yogurt would probably still have gone on top if we had had any. Becuase this soup is vegan, it freezes very nicely.