Vegan Butternut Squash Au Gratin W/Crispy Shallots
Category
Salads - Soups - Sidedishes
Sub
Category
None
Ingredients
1 pound of shallots (about 2 cups thinly sliced)
1/2 cup oil of choice for frying
Approx 5 lbs of whole butternut squash (1 1/2 to 2 lbs once sliced)
1 1/2 cups raw cashews
1 1/2 cups canned coconut milk, water or chicken broth.
4-5 roasted garlic cloves (instructions below)
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt, plus 1 tablespoon more for sprinkling
Fresh ground pepper for sprinkling
A little olive oil to brush on top of the au gratin
Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
Begin by peeling the butternut squash with a vegetable peeler. I use a strong stainless steel one since the outer skin can be quite tough.
Cut off the fat “hollow” end and very thinly slice the squash with a mandolin veggie slicer set on the 1/8 inch setting. (Mine is a cheap one from Sharper Image and it works just fine.) Set the squash aside.
Note- I like to pull out a some of the best squash slices for the top layer of the au gratin.
Using the mandolin veggie slicer or sharp knife, thinly slice the shallots.
Pre-heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat for 1-2 minuets then add the shallots to the oil. Gently fry for about 20 min. You want the shallots to brown SLOWLY. If the oil gets too hot and they start to brown too fast or unevenly, turn the heat down a little. Watch them closely.
Once the shallots are golden, remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon. Let them drain for a moment, then let them cool on a paper towel. Sprinkle with a little salt. They will become crispy as they cool.
Note- Crispy shallots can be made up ahead of time and stored in an air tight container fora few days and sometimes even longer. They are also a huge flavoring component to this dish.
Now you can put together the cashew sauce. This can also be done while the shallots are cooking as long as you can still keep an eye on them.
In a blender, add the cashews, coconut milk/water/broth, roasted garlic and 1 tsp of salt. Puree until the mixture is creamy. Stop and stir as needed to keep it moving through the blender.
To make roasted garlic in a pan, just take the cloves still in their paper and heat them in a pan over medium heat. Let them roast this way for about 15 minutes, turning every so often to ensure even cooking. It’s ok for the paper to burn some. Remove from heat, let cool, then take off the paper skin.
To assemble the au gratin, spread about 1/4 cup of the cashew mixture on the bottom of a small 7 x 10 casserole dish. Then lay down your first layer of thinly sliced squash. The squash should overlap slightly, but not too much or you will not have enough to do all of the layers.
Spread another 1/4 cup of cashew sauce over the first layer. Sprinkle very lightly with coarse sea salt, cracked pepper and shallots evenly over this layer.
Repeat this for the rest of the layers until you run out of squash, finishing the top layer with the best squash slices of course.
Using a pastry brush, brush the top of the au gratin with a light layer of olive oil (or oil of choice). Sprinkle lightly with coarse sea salt and cracked pepper.
Bake in a preheated 375-400 degree oven for about 35-40 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and crispy in parts. If the au gratin doesn’t crisp to your liking, you can broil the top for few minutes.
This dish reheats well in a 375 degree oven for about 25 minutes.
Originally Submitted
10/4/2012
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