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Every family has their traditional side dishes. As a child, my mom always made the classic green bake, complete with cream of mushroom soup and french fried onions. It was guaranteed that you would find a baking dish of it somewhere amongst all the other dinner items.
While there is nothing wrong with continuing traditions, it also is nice to infuse some creativity into the meal. To help with this I am sharing two different vegetable dishes from talented chefs. Both include classic Thanksgiving ingredients, winter squash and pumpkins, and should receive rave reviews. Why not give one a try?
- 1 loaf ciabatta bread
- chorizo, removed from casing
- 1 15-oz. can pumpkin purée
- ricotta salata, grated
- cranberry chutney
- honey
- Preheat grill pan or frying pan over medium heat. Slice ciabatta into 1/2-inch thick slices. Grill for 1 minute per side or until golden brown.
- Crumble chorizo into pan, and grill until slightly crispy.
- Remove to a paper-towel lined plate.
- Take one slice of ciabatta and top with a rounded tablespoon of pumpkin purée. Top with one teaspoon of ricotta salata and one teaspoon of chorizo.
- Finish with a dollop of cranberry chutney and a drizzle of honey.
- 4 lbs. squash (approx. two small), peeled and cut into ¾-inch cubes
- 4 Tb. olive oil, divided
- 1/2 cup shallots, sliced
- 2 Tb. fresh parsley
- vegetable or chicken stock
- salt and pepper
- nutmeg
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 Tb. sugar
- 1 tsp. fresh thyme
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 cup butter
- 2 egg yolks
- 3 tsp. ice water
- Toss the squash with olive oil and place on parchment-lined sheet pan. Roast in convection oven at 375° for about 25 minutes until browned and soft (400° in a conventional oven).
- On the cook top, sauté the sliced shallots with 1 tbsp. olive oil until translucent.
- Toss squash and shallots in a large bowl, add parsley and stock, season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg; mix and divide into small buttered dishes or a medium-sized baking dish.
- Cover with foil and bake until tender about 25 minutes.
- To make the crumble, put flour, sugar, thyme and salt into a medium bowl; stir and add cold butter, mixing with your fingertips to resemble coarse meal. Keep the butter cold!
- Whisk yolks with ice water and add to flour until just combined, adding just a bit more water if needed.
- Refrigerate squash and topping.
- Before serving, divide topping over dishes and bake again for about 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown.
