I picked up two small acorn squash at St. George Market on Sunday, so when we needed a quick and easy dinner on Tuesday night, they were what I grabbed.
We didn't bother to peel them, most of the skin will soften enough to eat without even noticing. We took the seeds and guts out, and cut them into slices and added them to a large sheet tray with a roughly chopped onion, 1/3 of a cauliflower we had left in the fridge, and a can of chickpeas.
Actually, we added all of this veg to three different baking trays, all of decreasing size, because we are living in someone else's house and using someone else's kitchen. But if I were at home, I would put them all on a large baking tray, so use what you have.
I dressed them all liberally with olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin, and smoked paprika, and chucked them in a hot oven. (This means more olive oil than you might normally use and an oven that is about 425F)
You can use any kind of squash for this, and you don't need a cauliflower if you don't have one. A cabbage would work well, broccoli would be delicious, and even a carrot or potato would fill it out nicely.
And don't worry about it if you don't have chickpeas on hand. Any white bean would work well, or even lentils or farro but I'd throw a grain in just for the last 10 minutes. And if you have none, just leave them out.
During the last 10 minutes of baking, this meal really comes together. Time to make it really shine. On Tuesday night I wanted soft-boiled eggs to go with mine, so I threw two eggs in some boiling water for 7 minutes. Lydia wanted pasta, so we boiled a serving of small shells and hit them with butter and parmesan when they were done.
You could even smush all this veg onto a grilled or toasted piece of bread. But I am going to advocate for the soft egg.
I roasted them for about 25 minutes. I consider them done when they are soft and I can stick a fork or knife through them, and they also have some nice color and crispy bits. The onions are a good gage for this, if they look delicious, you're probably good to go.
A nut would go nicely with this also, a pistachio, or pine nuts, on the off chance you have pine nut money. We didn't have any on Tuesday so we went without, still delicious!
Whatever you do, smother the whole plate in parmesan. Lemon zest would be really nice also.
On Wednesday for lunch, I put about a cup of fine ground polenta in a pot with several cups of water and a stock cube (something I have been loving using!) and simmered it for about 20 minutes until thick (keep stirring). I threw in a big nob of butter and served the reheated veg on top again.
Can't go wrong with a big tray of roasted veg, especially with a soft-boiled egg and some parmesan. Or buttered noodles if you're Lydia.
Here's my lunch from Tuesday, featuring our small balcony in Belfast. Polenta and soft-boiled eggs included and showered in parmesan.
Enjoy
Mira
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