SQUASH PANZANELLA
A gorgeous way to roast and eat a squash; it's worth making for the brown butter dressing alone. I have used delica squash here, which is one of my favourites. But if you can't get your hands on it, butternut squash is readily avaliable and would be great here too.
Ingredients
- 1 large squash (I like red kuri here, but delica or crown prince will roast up great, too), deseeded & chopped into wedges
- 6 garlic cloves peeled & bashed
- 4 rosemary sprigs
- olive oil
- 200 g stale sourdough torn into chunks
- handful of sage leaves only
- 400 g jar butter beans drained & rinsed
- 125 g mozzarella drained
- salt & freshly ground black pepper
BROWN BUTTER VINAIGRETTE
- 75 g unsalted butter
- 1 small shallot very finely chopped
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp honey
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 160°c (fan assisted)/350°f/gas 4.
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Combine the squash, bashed garlic and rosemary on a baking tray. Drizzle with a really good glug of olive oil and season with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Use your hands to give everything a good mix and sit the garlic and rosemary within the curves of the squash. Roast for 25 minutes.
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Combine the chunks of sourdough with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and black pepper in a mixing bowl. Use your hands to give it a mix, turning the bread over in the oil. Arrange the bread in the gaps between the partially-roasted squash, then return to the oven for a further 10-15 minutes, or until the squash is deeply golden at the edges and the bread is crisp. You can discard the garlic and rosemary now, they have done their job.
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Meanwhile, you can make the vinaigrette. Melt the butter in a small frying pan over a low heat. Let it bubble and crackle, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter is covered with a layer of foam and the underneath has turned a golden brown. This will take 3–4 minutes. At this point, add the shallot and continue to cook for a further 2–3 minutes, still swirling occasionally, until the butter has darkened to a nutty brown colour, then remove from the heat. You don’t want it to get too dark, so just keep an eye on it. Also, it will spit, so just be careful! Add the Dijon mustard, honey, white wine vinegar and a good pinch of salt and stir to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if needed.
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Next, heat a really good glug of olive oil in a small frying pan over a medium-high heat. Once hot, add the sage leaves and fry for 20-30 seconds, until crisp. Use a slotted spoon to remove them from the oil and onto a sheet of kitchen towel, to soak up any excess grease.
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Arrange roasted squash, toasted bread and butter beans on a serving plate and tear the mozzarella over top. Drizzle with the brown butter vinaigrette and finish with the crispy sage and a good crack of black pepper (if your dressing is too thick to spoon over the salad at this point, you can whisk through a spoonful or two of water). Any leftover vinegarette will keep for a week or two in the fridge. You’ll need to bring it back up to room temperature before using it.
Love warm salads like this Squash Panzanella? Try my Fennel & Salsa Verde Traybake Salad too.
25 mins wasn’t nearly enough time to get the squash properly roasted, even with the additional 15. 🙁
What sort of squash did you use?
G x