I love kabocha squash. So I was excited to try this savoury squash tart recipe. Sadly, I wasn't able to find any kabocha at the grocery store, so I had to settle for buttercup instead. Even with that substitution, it was very good. But I'd still love to try it with an actual kabocha sometime.

I think the only other change I'd make is to double the onion. The long-cooked caramelized onion layer on the bottom of the tart was delicious. There just wasn't enough of it! Otherwise though, I really have no complaints. This was great.

Kabocha Squash and Pecorino Tart

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 (~1kg) kabocha squash
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1/2 recipe sourdough pastry
• 2 red onions, chopped
• 1 tsp. fresh thyme
• 2 large eggs
• 1 c. half-and-half (10% MF)
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/2 c. grated pecorino romano
• 1/2 c. grated Parmesan

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F).
2. Cut squash in half and scoop out the seeds and guts.
3. Brush squash, inside and out, with 1 Tbsp. of the olive oil and place cut-side-down on a baking sheet.
4. Roast at 220°C (425°F) until very tender (~40 minutes).
5. Meanwhile, make your pastry, wrap it, and put it in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.
6. While the pastry is chilling and the squash is roasting, heat the remaining 1 Tbsp. oil over medium heat.
7. Add the onions and cook until softened (4-5 minutes).
8. Reduce heat to medium-low, sprinkle in thyme, and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for ~30 minutes.
9. When squash is done, scoop out the flesh and discard the skins.
10. Mash the squash and blend with the eggs, half-and-half, salt, and pepper.
11. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured work surface and use it to line a 23cm (9") deep dish pie plate.
12. Crimp the edges and spoon the onion mixture into the bottom of the pie shell. Spread into an even layer.
13. Srpinkle the cheeses on top.
14. Pour the squash mixture over the cheese and smooth the top.
15. Bake at 220°C (425°F) for 10 minutes.
16. Reduce heat and bake for another 20 minutes.
17. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes.
18. Cut into slices and serve.

I really like kabocha squash. It's sweet like a pie pumpkin, but the flesh is much less wet. It's great roasted and mashed. (As it is for these squash toastsa.)

This recipe calls for a slightly different approach. Rather than roasting it with the skin on and then scooping out the softened flesh, you cut it into wedges and peel it first and then roast the wedges. Sounds good. But, sadly, I had a bit of trouble with this approach. The wedges took much longer to cook than the recipe suggested and, with a longer cooking time, they ended up starting to burn at the tips while still being somewhat underdone in the middle. Next time I think I'd just cut the squash into cubes and roast it that way. Or, possibly better yet, roast unpeeled halves, mash the flesh, and then just drizzle a little balsamic over it before serving. Because, while this approach wasn't terrible, it wasn't great either, so I would definitely like to make some modificaitons next time. (Or just save the squash and use it for something else entirely.)

Roasted Kabocha Squash with Balsamic Vinegar

From Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 kabocha squash (~1kg)
• 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
2. Cut squash in half and scoop out seeds. Then cut each half into wedges ~2cm thick¹ and peel each wedge.
3. Toss squash wedges with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Roast at 200°C (400°F) until tender (20-25 minutes).
5. Drizzle with balsamic and roast for another 2-3 minutes.

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¹ In retrospect, part of my problem may be that I cut my wedges too thick. But even so, I don't think I'd want to do wedges again. Trying to cut and peel the wedges was annoying. I think I'd still rather just do cubes or mash and drizzle. ^Back

I've now tried all of the smoothie bowl recipes from the Breakfast Bible, so I decided to start working my way through some of the breakfast toast recipes. I'd already done the avocado toast and the smoked salmon toast, but that still left the cucumber toast and this squash one.

I'd never actually had kabocha squash before (although I have noticed them becoming increasingly popular here over the past few years). They look similar to a buttercup squash, but apparently have a somewhat lower moisture content.

The flavour was quite nice. Especially when mixed with sautéed onion, garlic, and pepper flakes! And the relatively dry flesh made for a good, stiff-but-spreadable consistency that didn't make the toast heavy or soggy. That said, I think it would probably still be okay with a higher moisture squash; it'd just be a bit wetter.

The recipe called for topping the toasts with either shichimi togarashi or chili oil. I probably could've made some shichimi togarashi, but I got mixed up and was thinking that shichimi togarashi referred to special Japanese hot pepper flakes/chiffonade rather than a spice blend. But, since chili oil was suggested as an option, I decided that Laoganma (老干妈) would also be in the right vein. So we elected to top our toasts with everyone's favourite salty, oily, spicy goodness.

The Kidlet wasn't really a fan of these toasts, but TF and I both enjoyed them a lot! The squash and goat cheese work very well together. And, of course, you can't really go wrong with Laoganma!

We used a few thin slices of English muffin bread as the base for our toasts, but pretty much any bread would work. The recipe actually call for whole wheat bread, but I wasn't about to make a whole new loaf just for this recipe. Just use what you have on hand. The exact type of bread isn't super critical to the recipe.

Photo goes here.

Squash Toast

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1/2 kabocha squash
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
• 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 125g soft unripened goat cheese
• 4 slices bread, toasted
• 1/4 c. pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds), toasted
• 2 tsp. Laoganma (老干妈) or shichimi togarashi

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. Cut the squash in half¹, scoop out the seeds and guts², and brush it with 1-2 tsp. of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
3. Roast the squash at 200°C (400°F) until tender (30-45 minutes).
4. Scoop the flesh out of the skin and mash it. (Discard the skin.)
5. Heat the remaining oil over medium heat.
6. Add the onion and cook for 4-5 minutes.
7. Add the garlic (if using) and pepper flakes and cook for another minute or so.
8. Add the mashed squash and cook, stirring, until well-mixed and heated through.
9. Adjust seasoning to taste.
10. Spread the cheese over the toasts.
11. Spread a layer of squash over the cheese.
12. Top each toast with ~1 Tbsp. of pepitas and ~1/2 tsp. Laoganma and serve.

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¹ You will only need half of the squash for this recipe, but I recommend roasting both pieces and simply saving one half for another use (or making a double batch of toasts). ^Back
2 Either discard the seeds or clean them off, season them, and roast them like pumpkin seeds. ^Back