Squash, sage and crispy leek and sourdough gratin
A special, last minute Thanksgiving side dish recipe to say thank you!
Today’s newsletter is a little nod to Thanksgiving - in honour of my lovely American readers - hello you! - it’s still utterly wild and wonderful to me that this newsletter is read in 49 states, and I hope if you do celebrate Thanksgiving - wherever you are in the world - that the prep and planning is going well and that you have a beautiful celebration.
While we’ve never really celebrated Thanksgiving as a family per se - this year we’re embracing it with a weekend full of friends and kids and we’re heading over to our part-American friends’ (shoutout to the Barker-Snellings!) to cook up a sort of eclectic ‘Friendsgiving’ potluck feast - the main course of which I’m cooking, but I’m making things mega easy - after all the really important part of this weekend is time with said friends - with crispy confit duck legs brought back from France served with a big pot of braised lentils. I’ll share the full details next week. One friend is making my squash agrodolce and bitter leaf salad to go with the rich poultry - and both might be nice ideas for your Thanksgiving menu, too…
I imagine that readers in America have probably already got their Thanksgiving menu down (or maybe you’re more of a last minute person, a bit like me??), but might possibly be in the market for a seasonal veggie side dish to mix things up a bit, so I wanted to share this most delicious and versatile squash gratin with a chunky, leeky, crispy breadcrumb topping. If you’re reading this in another part of the world and don’t celebrate Thanksgiving - this is still a great seasonal side, or arguably, centrepiece - which might be a good Christmas vegetarian main option too, perhaps with the cheese dialled up a notch and some nuts and seeds added into the topping for a bit of extra protein.
If you’re looking for a new Thanksgiving dessert to try out, might I also nudge you in the direction of my brown butter butterscotch and pecan apple pie, or the banana custard tart right here. So that just leaves me to wish you all a wonderful holiday, if you’re celebrating tomorrow or this weekend. Do let me know below the line what you thought of the recipe if you try it, and remember if it’s not just for Thanksgiving… I hope you love it.
The Recipe
Squash gratin with a crispy crumb, leek and sage topping
Serves 4-6
This is a lesson in the joys of contrast - the sweet and savoury flavours together. The woody sage and salty parmesan is magical with the sweet, yielding squash. It’s good on its own with a dressed salad, or on the side.
40g butter
2 slices of sourdough, chopped into coarse, chunky breadcrumbs
1 leek, cleaned and cut into 2cm half moons
1 butternut squash, peeled, halved, seeds scooped out and thinly sliced into half moons
150ml milk, whole or semi-skimmed
300ml tub of double cream
2 cloves of garlic, finely grated
A big pinch of chilli flakes
A big pinch of sea salt
A big bunch of sage (about 20 leaves), plus extra for the top
Nutmeg, for grating
50g parmesan, grated
Grease a deep 20x27cm gratin dish or roasting tray really well with softened butter. Heat a heavy bottomed frying pan or skillet over a medium heat and melt the butter. Sizzle a handful of the sage leaves in the butter just to infuse it with their flavour, take a deep sniff, then scoop them out with a slotted spoon and reserve, keeping the butter in the pan.
Slide the leeks into the sage-infused butter, season with salt and pepper and fry for a few minutes until softened and smelling fantastic. Scoop them out into a bowl. Now, if the pan is looking a little dry, add a little wisp of olive oil to the pan and fry the breadcrumbs for a couple of minutes, just to coat them in the fat and dry them out a little, but not to crisp them up too much as they’re going to get really crispy in the oven. Tip them into the bowl with the leeks and mix in the sage. This is your topping.
Heat the oven to 170 fan. In a bowl or jug, mix the milk and cream together with the garlic, two thirds of the parmesan, the chilli flakes, salt and pepper and a good grating of fresh nutmeg. Arrange a layer of the squash in the bottom, season with a little more salt and strew across a layer of evenly spaced sage, then pour over enough of the cream mix to cover.
Repeat this process with the layers until you’ve used up all the squash and sage, and then pour over any remaining cream mixture. Top with the leftover cheese, then scatter over the leeky breadcrumbs. Foil and roast for 35 mins, then remove the foil and return to the oven for another 20 minutes, until the cream is bubbling, the squash is soft and tender and the topping is beautifully crispy and golden.
Allow to settle for at least five minutes before serving.