The arrival of squash in the produce stalls seems to herald in the holiday season and these days squash has been popping up everywhere. During this time of year chefs, bloggers and home cooks around the world are inspired to cook and create with these wonderfully diverse gourds, inspiring me to come up with this weeks recipe. My squash of choice: the butternut.
Butternut squash has a sweet flavor, velvety texture and is one of the more popular varieties found. This variety as with many types of squash pair exceptionally well with cream, but I wanted to go a bit healthier route and decided to add a creamy quality through the addition of white beans. I chose navy beans for their texture and rich, but smooth flavor. It was a simple choice.
To flavor my dish, I chose guanciale and sage which combine quite merrily with the squash and beans. I first had guanciale in Rome last November when Phil and I took part in the Home Food Project. Our hostess Nella used this specialty of Lazio as a flavoring agent in the local dish potatoes guanciale. The wonderful flavor was full but delicate, infusing the dish with porky goodness. Guanciale is the seasoned and cured jowls of a pig, it is less gamey than pancetta and is used in a similar fashion. Armandino’s Salumi excels at crafting guanciale.
The sage offers a cozy, earthy note to the dish that warms the soul. This wizened herb is aptly named, as it’s flavor seems to possess the knowledge of a thousand dishes. I can’t imagine this dish without it. The combination of these ingredients smells like Thanksgiving. In fact, this would make a spectacular substitute for those gross pureed squash or sweet potato dishes many feel compelled to make over the holidays.
Butternut Squash with Navy Beans and Sage
1 TBS Unsalted Butter
1/2 cup guanciale, diced (you may substitute pancetta)
1 Yellow Onion
1 1/2- 2 TBS Sage Leaves, chopped
1 cup Dry White Wine
Chicken Stock, to cover
1/2 Butternut Squash, diced*
8 oz. Dried Navy Beans (or your favorite white beans such as cannelini), soaked, cooked and well drained
Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat and saute your guanciale and onions until brown and the guanciale is crisp. Stir in the sage and deglaze your pan with the white wine, being sure to loosen all those yummy brown bits from the bottom before adding the stock. Add in the squash and beans, stirring to coat and simmering until the squash is tender.
*The squash pictured was cut much too large for this dish. The size dwarfed the beans and texture competed with the flavor, something that was easily remedied by cutting it into smaller pieces. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Golly, I have been craving sage and butternut squash for weeks now… If only Brian would eat it. Having lots of time off, I get to make a little soup for myself during the middle of the day. I would LOVE a nice ravioli lunch, to…
Now I know what I’m going to do with my guanciale if I ever get around to making it!
Jen, mmm. . . butternut squash ravioli with bits of guanciale and fried sage. Sounds like a great lunch to me.
Marvin, I hope you do make guanciale. I think that learning to make these types of things is such an important part in the development of the food movement. Not to mention the delicious, delicious results.
I think this will very likely go onto my Thanksgiving menu.
Even though I can’t justify going whole-hog when it’s just Richard and me, I still like to keep it special and I think this dish will do just that.
Thank you! I hope you enjoy it. I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving.
I love bean+squash combinations — white beans and black beans especially (black beans are especially good with mexican spices, cilantro, a bit of hot pepper, and a squirt of lime).
Did you precook the beans, or do they cook in the same amount of time as the squash?
I do pre-cook the beans. Thanks for the heads up, I seem to have written soaked twice instead of soaked and cooked. I appreciate the heads up.
I love Butternut squash too. The other day I was making chicken soup and didn’t have any of the standard veggies to throw in, so I tossed in Butternut squash and cabbage. It was delicious. My half polish boyfriend said it tasted like his Grandmother’s Chicken soup.
BTW, the toffee looks amazing.
Thank you Deborah and welcome to my site!
Omigod! that looks and sounds good!
Why haven’t I been keeping up with what you’re doing?!
I’m soaking some cannelinis right now to try this tomorrow!
Rainey, I don’t know, but I am happy to see you now! Hope you had a great Thanksgiving.
LOVED it! Sooo satisfying. Comfort food without the junky carbs!
Tell you want I added that I really liked: big chunks of walnut that I sautéed with the pancetta (didn’t know about guanciale but I look forward to learning about it if I can get my hands on some). It made mine very dark and yours is so much prettier. But next time I’d definitely sauté them up separately to keep the flavor and crunch and add them at serving time when they won’t interfere with the range of colors.
I also used half butternut squash and half sweet potato since Trader Joe’s has them both cleaned and packaged making this as quick and easy as it is delicious. And I soaked my cannelinis in chicken broth with a couple generous spoonfuls of frozen condensed apple juice stirred in. I liked that flavor boost too.
Carry on, Oh Queen of the Comfort Food! ;> We are eating more vegetarian-ish and this was true inspiration just up our alley and I look forward to more.
Great ideas Rainey! The walnuts sound like a fantastic addition. Next time. . . next time.