curried butternut squash gratin

A simple and easy recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi. I am always looking for new recipes for butternut squash and this one doesn’t disappoint. If you love curry and squash, you will love this recipe. If you don’t have a mandoline, just be sure to cut the squash as thin as possible. And if using a mandoline be super careful as they are very sharp. I also didn’t have curry leaves so I simply made some aromatic oil with some ground red pepper flakes and oil. This can be eaten on it’s own, or served with rice and some naan bread or eaten as a side with some grilled tandoori chicken. Yum! Happy fall.

A note on chillies: In the USA, we have a lot of different types of chillies. The type of chilli I use depends upon the ethnic origin of the food I am making and the heat level I desire. I typically use Thai labeled chillies when making Indian food. In the UK, you would probably use birdseye green chillies.

Ingredients

For the curry mixture:

• 1 x 400ml can full-fat coconut milk (reserve 2 tbsp to serve)

• 1 shallot, peeled and roughly chopped (or half a small onion if you don’t have a shallot)

• 15g piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

• 2 plum tomatoes

• 1 tbsp medium curry powder

• ¾ tbsp tomato paste

• Salt

• 1 large butternut squash, halved, seeds scooped out and discarded or saved for toasting, then cut widthways into 2-3 mm or 1/8 inch slices – use a mandoline, if you have one (850g net weight)

For the coconut toppings:

• 30g coconut flakes

• 1 tbsp maple syrup

• 1½ tbsp olive oil

For the aromatic oil:

• 3 tbsp olive oil

• 1 large chilli, cut into thin rounds

• 15 fresh curry leaves (ie, from 1-2 sprigs)

• 1 lime, cut into wedges, to serve

Creating the Magic!

Heat the oven to 220°C (200°C convection)/425°F. Put the first six ingredients in a blender with a teaspoon and a half of salt and blitz smooth. Arrange the squash slices in a round, 28cm (11inch) cast-iron pan or baking dish, then pour over the curry coconut milk mixture.

For the coconut toppings: In a small bowl, mix the coconut flakes with the maple syrup and a good pinch of salt, and set aside.

Cover the cast-iron pan or dish with foil, bake for 60 minutes, then remove the foil, drizzle over the oil, cover with the coconut flake mix and bake for 10 minutes more. Turn the oven to a high grill setting, then grill for four or five minutes, until nicely browned on top.

While the gratin is baking, make the aromatic oil. Put the oil in a small saucepan on a medium-high heat. Once hot, add the chilli and fry for 90 seconds, swirling the pan so it doesn’t catch, then add the curry leaves and fry for another 30 seconds, until the leaves are crisp (careful, they might spit). Strain the chilli and curry leaves through a sieve set over a heatproof bowl to collect the oil.

Drizzle the aromatic oil and the reserved two tablespoons of coconut milk over the gratin, then sprinkle on the chilli and curry leaves and serve with the lime wedges for squeezing over.

Note: I found this recipe in Ottolenghi’s column in The Guardian. There are a couple more tray bakes I want to try. Thank you to my sister for forwarding me these recipes.

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/oct/10/yotam-ottolenghi-recipes-for-autumn-traybakes