Roasted Garlic and Butternut Squash Cassoulet

By Alissa -
From: Cooking Light

I make this a lot in the fall/winter. I can't believe I never posted this recipe before, but I couldn't find it in the archives. I like this dish, but I think it needs to be seasoned well or else it is a little bland. For this reason, I typically increase the amounts of herbs, salt and pepper, and I use the full head of roasted garlic instead of just the half that the recipe calls for. Tonight I tried roasting the butternut squash first, and it honestly didn't make a ton of difference in my opinion. But the herbs and garlic do make a difference here. Don't skimp on those things.

8 servings (serving size: 1 3/4 cups)

1 whole garlic head
4 ounces pancetta, chopped (regular bacon is also fine)
2 cups vertically sliced onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
4 1/2 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 2 pounds)
1/2 cup organic vegetable or chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (I used a little more)
1/4 teaspoon salt (I used a little more)
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (again, I used more)
4 (16-ounce) cans cannellini or other white beans, rinsed and drained
1 bay leaf
2 (1-ounce) slices white bread (I used some panko breadcrumbs instead)
2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 350°.

Remove white papery skin from garlic head (do not peel or separate the cloves). Wrap garlic head in foil. Bake at 350° for 1 hour; cool 10 minutes (I actually roast this in the toaster oven while I'm working on the rest of the ingredients). Separate cloves; squeeze to extract garlic pulp. Set half of garlic pulp aside; reserve remaining garlic pulp for another use. (I actually put all of the roasted garlic in this dish. I think it needs the extra flavor). Discard skins.

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add pancetta; sauté 5 minutes or until crisp. Remove pancetta from pan, reserving drippings in pan. Add onion and 1 tablespoon oil to drippings in pan; sauté 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook 25 minutes or until onion is very tender and browned, stirring frequently. Stir in vinegar.

Preheat oven to 375°.

Add garlic pulp, pancetta, squash, and next 6 ingredients (through bay leaf) to onion mixture, stirring well. Place bread in a food processor, and pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs measure about 1 cup. Combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, and 1/2 teaspoon olive oil; sprinkle evenly over squash mixture. Cover and bake at 375° for 50 minutes or until squash is tender. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes or until topping is browned. Discard bay leaf. Sprinkle with parsley.

Comments

Becky said…
Just to clarify on the panko breadcrumbs -- did you use 1 cup, or some other measure? Thanks!
8:38 AM
Alissa said…
to be honest, I didn't measure. I just sprinkled the top with panko and parmesan. I didn't measure either. I have to confess I cook like Rachel Ray - rarely measure anything unless I'm baking.
1:09 PM
gwen said…
Yum, I want this right now. I still have one final butternut squash from my garden... this might be exactly the right way to say goodbye to it.
6:54 PM
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