Butternut squash/chard dishes
November 12, 2020 7:08 PM Subscribe
What should I make with butternut squash and chard?
I have two big bunches of rainbow chard and a container of prechopped butternut squash from Costco. What should I cook for dinner this weekend?
Pantry is well stocked with pasta, canned beans of various kinds, chicken stock, canned tomatoes and paste, anchovies (I think?), fancy canned tuna, various dried herbs and spices, onions, garlic, Russet potatoes, and a couple of sweet potatoes. The fridge has Parmesan, cheddar, goat cheese, feta, a jar of pesto, kalamata olives, two leeks with most of the dark green parts cut off, broccoli. The freezer has frozen kale, pork loin, bacon, various frozen chicken parts and whole chicken. We don't eat beef. I don't do spicy well and I hate bell peppers. Vegetarian or light meat recipes are a plus!
I am pretty good at cooking/following recipes, and wouldn't mind something that's kind of a project (though like.. lasagna project, not beef wellington-type project). Thanks!
I have two big bunches of rainbow chard and a container of prechopped butternut squash from Costco. What should I cook for dinner this weekend?
Pantry is well stocked with pasta, canned beans of various kinds, chicken stock, canned tomatoes and paste, anchovies (I think?), fancy canned tuna, various dried herbs and spices, onions, garlic, Russet potatoes, and a couple of sweet potatoes. The fridge has Parmesan, cheddar, goat cheese, feta, a jar of pesto, kalamata olives, two leeks with most of the dark green parts cut off, broccoli. The freezer has frozen kale, pork loin, bacon, various frozen chicken parts and whole chicken. We don't eat beef. I don't do spicy well and I hate bell peppers. Vegetarian or light meat recipes are a plus!
I am pretty good at cooking/following recipes, and wouldn't mind something that's kind of a project (though like.. lasagna project, not beef wellington-type project). Thanks!
Response by poster: Forgot to add, I have rice (arborio and long grain), and an instant pot! Risotto definitely sounds good...
posted by skycrashesdown at 7:22 PM on November 12, 2020
posted by skycrashesdown at 7:22 PM on November 12, 2020
Make this and toss the chard sliced into ribbon in with the squash for the last 5-10 min in the oven.
posted by rossination at 7:26 PM on November 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by rossination at 7:26 PM on November 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
There's a super-simple recipe I have that's just chopped-up and blanched chard, sauteed in a skillet with some chopped onion and garlic and then tossed with cheese tortellini. I bet some chunks of butternut squash would be great with that (cook the chopped butternut separately so it doesn't go all mushy and then toss it with the chard and tortellini at the last minute, add a lot of grated parmaesan).
Or - just do the chard and tortellini, and then make a bare-bones rustic butternut squash soup. I actually find that most squash soups gild the lily by adding curry and orange juice or apple juice and ginger and all other kinds of foobaz - my own preferred squash soup involves just cubing the squash and dumping it in a pot, adding a couple whole cloves of garlic and just enough water to cover, and then simmering until the squash is soft. Add some chopped sage and some salt, whiz the whole thing with an immersion blender and you're done. Simple and delicious.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:34 PM on November 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
Or - just do the chard and tortellini, and then make a bare-bones rustic butternut squash soup. I actually find that most squash soups gild the lily by adding curry and orange juice or apple juice and ginger and all other kinds of foobaz - my own preferred squash soup involves just cubing the squash and dumping it in a pot, adding a couple whole cloves of garlic and just enough water to cover, and then simmering until the squash is soft. Add some chopped sage and some salt, whiz the whole thing with an immersion blender and you're done. Simple and delicious.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:34 PM on November 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
I'm feeling ribollita. I haven't tried this recipe but it looks good to me. You can use your chard instead of the cabbage. Ignore the bit about burrata at the end, I mean I'm as pro-burrata as any rational person but it doesn't belong here.
posted by fingersandtoes at 7:56 PM on November 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by fingersandtoes at 7:56 PM on November 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
Make chard pesto. Do you have any kind of nuts? Walnut chard pesto is great, for example. Roast the squash very simply and toss with the pesto and maybe some of the goat cheese.
I think also a squash and leek soup would be great, and good to freeze if you make too much. Steam the squash, make a roux, slice your leeks very fine, combine and simmer with stock and blend. Top with nutmeg and additional fried leeks.
Chard is pretty good as a massaged salad, you could do a Niçoise salad thing with tuna, the olives, some steamed potatoes, boiled eggs, and a nice oil and vinegar dressing that you massage into the chard before serving with all the toppings. Salad and soup!
I’ve seen a fair few recipes for pork loin stuffed with chard. That sounds like a project to me.
posted by Mizu at 8:08 PM on November 12, 2020
I think also a squash and leek soup would be great, and good to freeze if you make too much. Steam the squash, make a roux, slice your leeks very fine, combine and simmer with stock and blend. Top with nutmeg and additional fried leeks.
Chard is pretty good as a massaged salad, you could do a Niçoise salad thing with tuna, the olives, some steamed potatoes, boiled eggs, and a nice oil and vinegar dressing that you massage into the chard before serving with all the toppings. Salad and soup!
I’ve seen a fair few recipes for pork loin stuffed with chard. That sounds like a project to me.
posted by Mizu at 8:08 PM on November 12, 2020
If you want a lasagna-scale project, try a butternut squash-chard lasagna! We made this one recently (calls for spinach, but I'd just substitute with sautéed chard) and it was a-maze-ing. Rich, creamy, satisfying on a cold night. Now granted, part of the amazing was the salty prosciutto on top, but you can omit that.
posted by troyer at 8:42 PM on November 12, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by troyer at 8:42 PM on November 12, 2020 [3 favorites]
Suggestion: roast the squash, fry the chard finely chopped in a little oil with some onion and garlic, make some shortcrust pastry if you have flour and butter, and throw the veg into a quiche with 3 eggs, enough yogurt mixed with it to make it look custardy, and whatever cheese you think might be good. Maybe also some pesto and/or olives. You don't mention eggs or yogurt, but it might work without those if you put enough cheese in :)
posted by altolinguistic at 3:42 AM on November 13, 2020
posted by altolinguistic at 3:42 AM on November 13, 2020
Make this ramen (with chard instead of broccolini), but use homemade noodles.
posted by saladin at 3:47 AM on November 13, 2020
posted by saladin at 3:47 AM on November 13, 2020
I've had good luck stuffing squash with a cheese and leek mixture that might translate well to your chard.
Cut the squash in half, hollow out the seedy/fibrous bit, brush with oil or melted butter (and any other seasonings you like at this stage, e.g. minced garlic) and roast until tender but not completely falling apart. You can keep the skin on the squash for these purposes. In the meantime, fry up some onions and garlic and add the chard when the garlic & onions are soft/translucent. Once the chard has cooked down, stir through any kind of cheese, possibly several kinds of cheese (grated cheddar or parmesan would work well here, as would chunks of feta or goat cheese), and ideally some sort of goopy dairy like creme fraiche (or very soft goat cheese) if you have any, plus salt, pepper and any other herbs & seasonings that you like (mustard is good here if you have it and like it). Stuff the hollows of the squash halves with this mixture, with breadcrumbs & extra grated hard cheese on top if you like a bit of a crust, and roast it some more until the stuffing mixture is bubbly and the squash is cooked to your preferred softness.
This is the original recipe I cribbed this dish from in case you find it reassuring to have specific measurements, but every time since the first time I've made this I've eyeballed it and switched up the ingredients to suit my fancy and it's always been great.
posted by terretu at 5:19 AM on November 13, 2020
Cut the squash in half, hollow out the seedy/fibrous bit, brush with oil or melted butter (and any other seasonings you like at this stage, e.g. minced garlic) and roast until tender but not completely falling apart. You can keep the skin on the squash for these purposes. In the meantime, fry up some onions and garlic and add the chard when the garlic & onions are soft/translucent. Once the chard has cooked down, stir through any kind of cheese, possibly several kinds of cheese (grated cheddar or parmesan would work well here, as would chunks of feta or goat cheese), and ideally some sort of goopy dairy like creme fraiche (or very soft goat cheese) if you have any, plus salt, pepper and any other herbs & seasonings that you like (mustard is good here if you have it and like it). Stuff the hollows of the squash halves with this mixture, with breadcrumbs & extra grated hard cheese on top if you like a bit of a crust, and roast it some more until the stuffing mixture is bubbly and the squash is cooked to your preferred softness.
This is the original recipe I cribbed this dish from in case you find it reassuring to have specific measurements, but every time since the first time I've made this I've eyeballed it and switched up the ingredients to suit my fancy and it's always been great.
posted by terretu at 5:19 AM on November 13, 2020
I've been really enjoying butternut squash soup lately.
Roast the butternut squash with some sweet potatoes in olive oil and salt for about 30 minutes at 450F. Sautee onion, garlic, celery, other herbs you want together in soup pot.
At the end of the 30 minutes, add the butternut squash/sweet potato mix to the sauteed veggies. Add enough chicken stock/broth to barely cover everything and let it simmer until the color turns kinda orange from the squash and sweet potato (20 minutes ish?). All the vegetables should be really tender by this point.
Pour it into a blender (or if you have an immersion blender, go straight in the pot) and blend until it's silky smooth. You can stir in cream if you want after blending, but I've never found that necessary since I've always gotten a really silky smooth texture already.
posted by astapasta24 at 6:02 AM on November 13, 2020
Roast the butternut squash with some sweet potatoes in olive oil and salt for about 30 minutes at 450F. Sautee onion, garlic, celery, other herbs you want together in soup pot.
At the end of the 30 minutes, add the butternut squash/sweet potato mix to the sauteed veggies. Add enough chicken stock/broth to barely cover everything and let it simmer until the color turns kinda orange from the squash and sweet potato (20 minutes ish?). All the vegetables should be really tender by this point.
Pour it into a blender (or if you have an immersion blender, go straight in the pot) and blend until it's silky smooth. You can stir in cream if you want after blending, but I've never found that necessary since I've always gotten a really silky smooth texture already.
posted by astapasta24 at 6:02 AM on November 13, 2020
I make a lot of butternut squash soup as well. I cube the squash and roast it, then puree it with some of the stock. Then I'll add this back to the onions, garlic, whatever else I've been sauteing (sometimes sausage), and the rest of the stock. A few minutes before serving, I'll add leafy greens, and serve the soup when the greens are cooked. I find soup much more satisfying as a main course if it's got chunks of stuff in it, which is why I puree only the squash. I'm also in the no-cream-needed camp.
posted by mollweide at 7:16 AM on November 13, 2020
posted by mollweide at 7:16 AM on November 13, 2020
Black Bean Chili with Butternut Squash and Swiss Chard is one of my favourite things.
posted by TORunner at 7:22 AM on November 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by TORunner at 7:22 AM on November 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
Ravioli.
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 7:28 AM on November 13, 2020
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 7:28 AM on November 13, 2020
I've made this a couple of times recently with my squash harvest and it is fantastic. (I left out the fennel and the dried chili peppers since those are a no-go among the other palates in my household.) I'll bet chard would go well in it too.
Spicy Squash - Kaddu Ki Subji
posted by medeine at 11:59 AM on November 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
Spicy Squash - Kaddu Ki Subji
posted by medeine at 11:59 AM on November 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
We've made this silverbeet and potato torte with pumpkin/butternut squash and chard before - I think even better than the original.
posted by AnnaRat at 12:16 PM on November 13, 2020
posted by AnnaRat at 12:16 PM on November 13, 2020
I just made this roasted beets with curry sauce. I bet it would be amazing with butternut squash. I used the sauce recipe as a started and adjusted to taste. I added more mayo and sour cream because I thought the amount of EVOO was excessive. Also amped up the garlic and curry powder.
posted by kathrynm at 3:15 PM on November 13, 2020
posted by kathrynm at 3:15 PM on November 13, 2020
Just came across this recipe and thought of this Ask. I'm sure you can sub the chard for the spinach.
posted by kathrynm at 8:59 AM on November 14, 2020
posted by kathrynm at 8:59 AM on November 14, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by cobaltnine at 7:15 PM on November 12, 2020