We've talked potatoes and pumpkin pie to death so let's move on to solving dinner problems for all other days of the year. I would take one of these lasagna squashes over a majorly brown thanksgiving plate any day. Sorry, bah humbug. Last year, I had dinner with some of my dearest college girlfriends at Malibu Farms (have you seen their cookbook? It's beautiful and casual and colorful) and I still think of this spaghetti squash dish we shared. It was creamy, but not overly so, could be ordered vegetarian or not, tasted like comfort food but didn't sit in your gut as such. I know in the season of cooking and romantically long prep time with your glass of wine and holiday tunes, this recipe may come off as old news, but a simple dinner is what I am more interested in in the long term. I made four, and my kids mostly poked at it. They saves well and can handle a reheat the following day or perhaps you have another couple over to share. I made a few notes in the headnote on meal suggestions. Grateful for this space - that my life and cooking may grow and change and these pages reflect the process of such. Happy belated Thanksgiving to you, lovelies.
LASAGNA STYLE SPAGHETTI SQUASH // Serves 4 I served this with a simple arugula salad on the side. If you have animal-protein-hungry people in your life, brown some ground turkey or beef and add it to the marinara layer. The squash can be roasted in advance to get ahead and everything else comes together pretty quickly. No dairy? Kite Hill makes a fabulous almond based ricotta if you can find it (try Whole Foods) and maybe you can top it with some toasted breadcrumbs or pine nuts to give it the richness it will lack from the other cheeses. Trader Joes also started carrying a premade, vegan cashew pesto in the fridge section that I imagine would be lovely mixed in with the shredded squash layer. I trust you can make adjustments where needed.
2 small spaghetti squash extra virgin olive oil salt and pepper 1/2 a yellow onion, chopped 3 cloves garlic, sliced thin 8-10 oz baby spinach or kale 8 oz./ 1 cup ricotta 1 tsp. dried Italian herbs (or dried oregano or fennel seeds if that's what you have) 4 oz. / 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella, plus more for topping 1/3 cup parmesan, divided juice of half a lemon 2 cups homemade or your favorite store-bought marinara fresh parsley, for garnish
Preheat the oven to 400'. Halve your squash and scoop out the seeds. Rub all sides with a thin coat of oil and roast the squash, cut side down, for about 45 minutes, or until the squash shreds easily. Let them cool for 15 minutes and then carefully shred all the strands into a bowl, keeping the squash shell intact. Reserve squash shells. Squeeze them with a dishtowel to remove some of the moisture if the squash looks soggy. Warm a generous tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions along with a pinch of salt and saute for a few minutes until fragrant and softened. Add the garlic and saute another minute. Add the baby spinach and saute until just wilted, about 1-2 minutes. Add the spinach to the bowl of squash, along with the ricotta, dried herbs, mozzarella, half of the parmesan and the juice of half a lemon. Stir everything to mix. Taste for salt and pepper, it will likely need both. Line the bottoms of the squash shells with marinara and sort of push it up the sides. Add the cooked ground meat here, if using. Be generous on the sauce, it needs the acid to balance the creaminess. Distribute the squash mixture on top. Sprinkle the tops with a little extra mozzarella and parmesan. Line a baking tray with parchment and bake the squash for 20 minutes to warm through. Broil them for a couple minutes at the end to finish and brown the tops. Garnish the tops with fresh parsley and serve warm.
Salad lady. There are a handful of dinners we have coming up and lo and behold, my assignment is consistent. We often do a quicky weeknight warm kale salad with a roasted squash, pom seed, pepita combo, so I was going for something different here. Light but not lacking, something that would welcome leftover chicken or steak for Hugh and a couple fried eggs for me. A base salad if you will? It is perfectly crunchy to go along with the warmer, richer foods that are more common this time of year. I like raw shaved fennel personally, but Hugh said it feels like eating shoelaces, so I roasted the bits this time. Fennel has some natural sweetness that comes out in a quick roast and he's right, they are a little nicer to eat this way. I made a few notes below in the recipe but if you're bringing green salad to your holiday table, this one is worth considering.
GOLDEN FENNEL KALE CHOP // Serves 4
Some of you will see an anchovy written in the dressing and think 'gross' but I promise you it is just a teensy bit of 'hm that's interesting and salty nice' that makes the whole salad special. It does not taste like fish. I use the ones from Trader Joes and use 1 large filet, which is about a tsp. worth. If you are completely averse or do not eat fish, a tsp. of capers will be a nice substitute. The dressing can be made in advance, mind as well double it if you like having dressing on hand (which is key if you appreciate meal prep). As per comments, it's pretty simple, so if you like a bolder dressing, add an extra anchovy and perhaps a dollop of mayo to emulsify. The fennel may be roasted a day in advance too, and otherwise, everything comes together quite quickly.
1 large or 2 small fennel bulbs extra virgin olive oil sea salt and pepper 1 bunch of lacinato kale, stemmed and chopped 1/2 cup cooked garbanzo beans 1/3 cup golden raisins 1/3 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese 1/3 cup toasted pinenuts
herby lemony vinaigrette
1 garlic clove 1 anchovy filet 1 tsp. dijon mustard 1 tsp. honey or agave handful of fresh parsley few basil leaves juice of one lemon 1/2 tsp. sea salt, to taste pinch of red pepper flakes 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Preheat the oven to 375' and line a small baking tray with parchment. Trim and core the fennel and chop it into 1/2" pieces. Add a drizzle of oil and sprinkle of salt and pepper to season and toss to coat. Roast for 20 minutes and set aside to cool completely. While the fennel roasts, make your dressing. Blitz all ingredients together in a blender or food processor. In a large mixing bowl, combine the kale, a few spoonfuls of dressing and massage it into the kale. It should reduce by half once you go rubbing the dressing into it. Add the garbanzos, raisins, parm, pinenuts, cooled fennel and toss again, adding more dressing as needed. No one likes dry kale. This salad can hang in the fridge for a few hours, pre dressed. Garnish with a sprinkle of extra cheese and nuts.
I was chatting with a reader a few weeks ago about making swaps in one of the older pumpkin recipes on this site and I realized we have a shortage in that category. I love pumpkin things, but am a little too cynical towards how overdone it can be this time of year. I've been baking with more almond meal lately, in the name of lower carbohydrate treats, and while it doesn't yield something nearly as light and fluffy as a "regular" baked good, I like how tender and rich things turn out. Hugh actually makes this rosemary bread better than I do now and we're ordering the stuff in 4 lb. increments so it won't stop here. We may be a little short on holiday sides in the index too now that I think of it so I'll work on a few of those. Anyway, it's food season! I'm here for you. Until then, I don't like hard selling you on the recipes here BUT if you need a super easy, one bowl, dairy free, gluten free, maple sweetened pumpkin muffin? These are them.
ALMOND MEAL PUMPKIN MUFFINS // Makes 12 (gf, df, veg) My kids love these. The chocolate is optional for them I suppose, but for us big kids, it is not. You could replace nuts in equal measure if you prefer. Most any muffin recipe that yields 12 can be made into a standard 9x5 loaf with more time in the oven. I actually haven't tried it yet, but I think if you went for 40 minutes, you'd be in good shape. Also note that different brands of canned pumpkin puree vs. homemade have different water content and will affect the outcome slightly. I find homemade to vary, and Libbys (what is at most conventional grocers) to be thicker than the Trader Joes stuff. So if you're using the TJ's brand, scale back to 3/4 cup. Side note, I LOVE this muffin tin. Muffins and mini frittatas release no problem which is more than I can say for any other brand I've tried. * Adding a note here. If coconut flour is not something you stock (and no, I don't find it tastes like coconut, and is not a very easy to use flour), King Arthur or Bobs Red Mill gluten free 1:1 flour or unbleached all purpose can be swapped in at 1/3 cup in its place. Same for the brown rice flour, I buy it online, but don’t go out of your way. Replace it with the GF all-purpose sub.
1 cup pumpkin puree 3 eggs 1/3 cup maple syrup 1/4 cup light brown sugar 1/3 cup olive oil or coconut oil, warmed 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice 1/2 tsp. sea salt 1/4 cup coconut flour 1/2 cup superfine brown rice flour 1 cup almond flour 1 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 cup chocolate chips or a 3.5oz. dark chocolate bar, roughly chopped
raw pepitas/pumpkin seeds, for garnish, optional
Preheat the oven to 360' and grease a muffin tin with coconut oil or use liners.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, eggs, maple, oil, pumpkin pie spice and salt and whisk really well to combine. You want to get some air up in there. Add the coconut flour and mix. Let that sit a minute to absorb some moisture. Add the rice flour, almond meal, baking powder and soda and stir again to mix. Add the chocolate chips, one last stir.
Distribute the batter between your cups. Sprinkle the pepitas on top. Bake on the middle rack for 20ish minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let them cool before removing them from the pan and enjoy.
Updated edit! These were originally published with 1/2 cup maple, but I reduced the maple and made up for some sweetness with brown sugar, to get a drier muffin. Either will work! but we prefer the texture with a partial dry sweetener.
Sara Forte
2019-02-12
Gluten Free Pumpkin Muffins
12
Gluten free pumpkin muffins made with almond meal and coconut flour.
1 cup pumpkin puree
3 eggs
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup olive oil or coconut oil, warmed
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 cup coconut flour
1 1/2 cups almond meal
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup chocolate chips
raw pepitas/pumpkin seeds, for garnish, optional
249 calories17 grams fat21 grams carbohydrate6 grams protein
Preheat the oven to 360' and grease a muffin tin with coconut oil or use liners.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, eggs, maple, oil, pumpkin pie spice and salt and whisk really well to combine. You want to get some air up in there. Add the coconut flour and mix. Let that sit a minute to absorb some moisture. Add the almond meal, baking soda and stir again to mix. Add the chocolate chips, one last stir.
Distribute the batter between your cups. Sprinkle the pepitas on top. Bake on the middle rack for 20ish minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let them cool before removing them from the pan and enjoy.
