La Vie en Plat: a food photo album

Butternut Smash with Kale Greens

Saturday night’s Samedi Gras party (think Mardi Gras four days late) had me playing mad scientist Saturday morning. My favorite way to cook is out of the abundance of what already is in the kitchen and I guess my hope in sharing the recipes is that they might elicit further inspiration and sparks of fun flavor combinations as well as some yummy, easy food recipes.

• 2 medium Butternut Squash, roasted for 1 hr. at 450.
  (I like the charred bits & cooking the hell out of them makes mashing a cinch).
• 1 medium Spanish Onion, diced
• 2 Garlic Cloves, minced
• Ginger, (the size of the space between thumb tip and thumb crease), minced
• 1 T Olive Oil or Butter
• 3 Kumquats, sliced
• Sriracha, to taste
• Salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste
• Kale, 1 bunch that have been ribbed and sliced

1. Butternut squash is so easy. I love when it’s that time of year where you turn the oven on high, paint the outside of both sides of the squash in olive oil and leave it to broil for an hour. So easy. This lets you prep the rest of the dish or maybe pay the bills while you wait.

2. While the squash cooks, saute the onions, garlic and ginger until they get slightly browned. At this point remove 1/3 of that concoction and stick in a small saucepan with the kumquats over mid-low heat for a few minutes to warm up the kumquats and infuse their juices into the onion-garlic-ginger mixture. Turn off heat and set aside.

3. The 2/3 left of the onion mixture now is ready for you to toss in the kale strips.  I didn’t exactly time how long to cook the kale other than it looked ready (reduced down and not mushy, but also not stiff). Turn heat off and set aside.

4. Take a spoon and begin running it along the inside of the butternut squash to get every last bit of pulpy goodness into your casserole dish. Discard the skins into your compost bin.

5. Spoon the kumquat mixture on top of the butternut squash and drizzle Sriracha on top to the amount of heat desired. I heart my immersion blender. It probably is the best unexpected gift I never knew I couldn’t live without. Add a touch of kosher salt and a few cracks of the black pepper mill on top and then blend away. Take care to make sure to mix the squash together after done blending.

6. Spoon the kale mixture on top of the butternut squash smash and serve. When I make this again I may make kale chips instead of sauteing the kale for textural delight. We’ll see.

Take my word for it (or take your own, which is even better) try this next to Andouille Jambalaya- you won’t be disappointed. And maybe with a Sazerac in hand. Hell, most things in life are better with Sazerac in hand, but I digress.