Rosemary-Parmesan Butternut Gratin

Posted January 18, 2011

Find more about dinner , casserole , squash

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This is such an appealing dish.

Except for salt and pepper, these are all the ingredients. The only thing that takes any time at all is peeling the squash. You have a nice, sharp peeler, right?

It's like a geode--only instead of glittering crystals, it's filled with gucky seeds.

The aftermath. . .

But the cubes themselves are all nice and tidy.

Ready to bake.

The cheese-adding step.

And done! That flurry of cheese turns into a glorious crust. Yum.

This is the moment when I thought we were going to have leftovers.

It seemed as though we were all eating such reasonable portions.

But it's true that we all had a little more and a little more.

We should have eaten only half of what was remaining each time! Then there'd still be some left. Right? I can almost remember that formula. Anybody?

I want you to know that I only run a recipe here if it's excellent enough to actually buy the ingredients for. And I'm mentioning that because I'm self-conscious about our winter farm share. We have a basement full of the guilty evidence of our crime--the crime of not using enough root vegetables--with grubby parsnips and rutabagas stashed everywhere like dead bodies. But just because I have 50 pounds of turnips to use by Tuesday doesn't mean that you need to be making turnip stew this week. I understand that, I do. Nor do you need to be making Special Mixed Root Vegetable Soup or Special Mixed Root Vegetable Puree. You may, actually, need to make Special Roasted Mixed Root Vegetables, so stay tuned, but I really do try to spare you the worst of it.

The squash, though, is a different thing. It's true that I am cramming them everywhere--"Mama, what's this orange thing in my tamale pie?"--but it's also true that I can still get excited about a fantastic squash recipe, one that shows off their sweetness and substance. A designation recipe. And this is just that kind of recipe: it's creamy and cheesy, simple and rich, like the mac and cheese of the squash world. While it's baking, your house will fill with the aroma of rosemary and toasting parmesan--a smell that is somehow enticingly green and brown, despite the obvious orangeness of the actual dish--and then the squash will taste exactly the way you thought it was going to, and a chorus of tiny angels will fly in a halo around your head, singing about Vitamin A and what a great cook you are and good for you to use the squash before it rotted.

It's also such an easy dish that it's kind of ridiculous: you spend about 1 second assembling it (after you've wrestled the squash into cubes), and then it just manages itself in the oven with spectacular results. I made it for a potluck, and everybody loved it. I forgot about it in the oven for an hour, and all the cream cooked completely away and the squash melted and the top got deeply browned, and everybody loved it. We joked about how, with Anni gone (her sister's having her own baby!), we would never finish it. And then we finished it. I served the gratin with a simple, sharply dressed spinach salad and bacon that we'd just gotten from our pig-farming friends, and it was such an exquisite, balanced, honest meal that we sat at the table afterwards patting our bellies and sighing. You'll see.

Rosemary-Parmesan Butternut Gratin
Serves 4-6
Active time: 15 minutes; total time: 1 hour

If your squash is a little bigger or smaller, don't fret--just adjust the cream and salt accordingly.

1 butternut squash (2 1/2 pounds), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch chunks
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (or half as much table salt)
1/2 teaspoon freshly chopped rosemary (or dried, if that's what you've got)
Black pepper
3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan

Heat the oven to 400 and grease a casserole dish.

Arrange the squash in the casserole. Combine the cream, salt, rosemary, and black pepper, whisk it with a fork, then pour it over the squash. Toss the squash a bit to coat each piece with the cream mixture (I use my hands for this), then cover tightly with foil and bake in the middle of the oven for half an hour.

Uncover the squash, gently stir in half the cheese (I use a rubber spatula for this), sprinkle on the remaining cheese, and bake, uncovered, another 15 minutes or so, until the top is browned and the squash is tender when you pierce it with a knife. Allow the casserole to stand for 5 minutes before serving so that the cream can thicken up.

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Rosemary-Parmesan Butternut Gratin

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CatheriNewman says:

February 24, 2011

adaisymay, I think that a tiny bit of thyme is always lovely with winter squash. You just wouldn't want to overpower with too much of a strong, dried herb. I have also used marjoram, which I love, but which mostly seems to be off the radar for lots of people. Let me know how it turns out! xo

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adaisymay says:

February 20, 2011

Catherine, I would love to try this recipe, except I really don't care for the taste of Rosemary (kind of like you and oregano!) Is there another herb that would be a good substitute?
Thanks!

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ceg595 says:

January 29, 2011

Looks fantastic! I totally get what you mean about rushing to use all of those amazing vegetables before they go bad. It's sort of a mixed blessing. We love Butternut squash and try to keep them on-hand for spur of the moment meals that need a little something extra. If this link works, http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/kerchief-pasta-with-caramelized-squash-and-fresh-herbs.html?cm_src=RECIPESEARCH, the recipe is amazing too. I use bow tie pasta and usually add a little sliced up leftover chicken or pork to make it a full meal. I can't wait to try the gratin. Maybe tonight!

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Dalai Mama Dishes

by Catherine Newman

Catherine Newman cooks for the family

Dalai Mama Dishes

Catherine Newman cooks for the family

Rosemary-Parmesan Butternut Gratin

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