It's freezing outside, so why not cozy up with some delicious comfort food that is healthy, #vegan, and delicious?
My butternut squash recipe was truly thrown together simply because I had roasted and steamed a butternut squash that we had laying around.
Here is how I prepared this meal:
First, I peeled the outside and cut the butternut squash into more manageable pieces.
These pieces were in thin rounds, and then toward the bottom, after scooping out the seeds, some pieces were in bite sized square pieces.
The square pieces I steamed along with other veggies; simply to have on hand.
The rounds I roasted in the oven with a drizzle of olive oil at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes.
As the butternut squash was roasting and steaming, I began preparing the filling.
I diced 1/4 white onion, 1 medium carrot, 1/8 of a red bell pepper and sauteed those ingredients in water with turmeric, garlic powder, salt, and pepper until translucent. Then I added about 2/3 cup of Gardien Beefless Ground and 4 stalks of chopped kale till warmed entirely.
Next, I prepared the "gravy". I chose to make it "cheesy" by adding some of the Cashew Cream that I've been ranting and raving about (inspired by #thevegan8 's recipe, and also in another blog post: Vegan Nacho Cheese ) along with some of the steamed butternut squash to truly marry the flavors that I planned to combine in this dish.
I used 1/4 cup of cashew cream, 1 tbsp of cashew milk, 1/3 cup of diced and steamed butternut squash, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, salt, and pepper, and about 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast (omitting the Dijon since I used butternut squash). Pulse together, scraping down the sides to combine.
Then came the assembly of the dish. I used two little baking dishes, almost like little dutch ovens, but personal sized.
I lay one slice of the roasted butternut squash at the bottom and then poured half of the Gardien and veggies mixture into each baking dish.
Next, I poured half of the "cheese" mixture into each dish.
Last, lay a round of the butternut squash on top of the dish and add a little salt and pepper.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.
Let it cool about 5 minutes and enjoy!
Recipe ingredients:
1 large butternut squash, peel the outside, cut into manageble pieces (steam half and roast half)
4 stalks of kale
1/4 white onion
1/8 red bell peper
1 medium carrot
1 tsp garlic powder, turmeric, salt, and pepper
1/3 cup of Gardien Beef-less Ground
Cheese Sauce ingredients:
1/4 cup of cashew cream
1 tbsp cashew milk
1/3 cup of steamed / cubed butternut squash
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp garlic powder, salt, and pepper
Tools needed for cooking:
oven set at 400 degrees first, then down to 350 to bake the combined meal
a steamer to steam your butternut squash, or a pot to boil till softened
2 individual baking dishes for the combined product
food processor
Steps to follow:
Roast and steam the butternut squash.
Saute the onion, carrot, and pepper in water, adding in the seasonings. Then saute the Gardien "meat" and kale till tender.
Add the cheese sauce ingredients to a food processor and pulse till combined.
Lay some butternut squash in the bottom of each dish, then the "meat", and then the "cheese".
Last, lay a round of butternut squash on top with some salt and pepper.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.