Butternut Squash Apple And Leek Gratin Food

APPLE, BUTTERNUT SQUASH, AND LEEK GRATIN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• In a medium saute pan over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil.
• Add the leeks, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, and saute over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10 - 12 minutes until they start to brown.
• Stir in the sherry and fresh sage, and continue cooking for about another 3 minutes, until the sherry has reduced.
• In a casserole dish (2 quart size preferably), lay all the butternut squash on the bottom. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on the squash.
• Cover with the leeks.
• Lay the apples on the leeks. If, unlike me, you have an actual apple corer, you can probably make these look waaaay prettier.
• Brush the apples with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• Sprinkle on the Parmesan.
• Cover the dish with foil, and bake for 45 minutes, or until the apples and squash are easily pierced with a fork.
• Increase the oven heat to 450 degrees. Uncover the dish, and bake for another 10 minutes or so, until top is nicely browned.
• Let cool for 5-10 minutes.

APPLE, LEEK, AND BUTTERNUT SQUASH GRATIN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a 10-inch skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat. Add leeks and 2 tablespoons water; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Add sherry and sage and cook until liquid is reduced to a glaze, about 3 minutes; set aside.
• In a 2-quart shallow baking dish, arrange squash in overlapping layers; season with salt and pepper. Spread leeks evenly over the squash.
• Arrange apples in an overlapping layer over the leeks. Brush apples with remaining tablespoon oil. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake 45 minutes.
• Uncover and sprinkle cheese over the top. Raise the oven temperature to 450 degrees and bake 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and is golden brown. The tip of a paring knife should easily pierce the gratin. Let cool 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with sage leaves.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH, APPLE AND LEEK GRATIN

Steps:

• In a bowl combine the 1-1/2 cups breadcrumbs with 3 tablespoons melted butter and pinenuts; set aside.
• Grease a 2-quart casserole dish.
• Heat 2-3 tablespoons of butter in a skillet over medium heat; add in leeks and saute for about 4-5 minutes or until lightly browned.
• In a large bowl combine the cubed squash with sauteed leeks, apple, brown sugar, salt, nutmeg and black pepper; toss to combine.
• Spoon into the prepared casserole dish; pour the apple juice or apple cider over the mixture.
• Cover with foil and bake in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes.
• Uncover the casserole and sprinkle the prepared breadcrumb/pine nut mixture over the top, then return to oven uncovered for another 15 minutes or until golden brown.
• Delicious!

BUTTERNUT SQUASH & LEEKS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400.
• Original recipe called for 400 - I think, like the one reviewer mentioned - may be too high. Maybe 375? Another thought is to maybe add the leeks a little into the cookiing -- the squash is definatly going to take longer to cook. Just some tweaking going on here. thanks for looking, and cooking!
• In a large bowl, mix the squash, leeks, herb, salt, pepper, olive oil and pecans (if your are using them) together.
• Place on a cookie sheet (may take 2) and cook for appx 1/2 hour.
• This is some really good stuff!
• Cook time is 1/2 hour, prep time is going to vary - the squash does take time, but well worth it.
• Edit to add that after peeling, seeding and halving/quartering the squash, put it in the microwave for 2 to 3 minutes. This will help with dicing of the squash and help even out the cooking time with the leeks.