Winter Squash w/ Pangrattato



It's winter (in case you have been asleep), so let's think of squash again. Butternut squash being my favorite of the winter squash.

Most people think of squash only around Thanksgiving time in the fall, but it is available all winter long and stays well because of its thick skin. You can keep it a month in a cool dry place and there will be no change when you find that bell shaped thing again.

For a vegetarian lunch I made a pangrattato to go over my roasted squash cubes.
What is pangrattato?
I am glad you asked.

Pan-grah-totto are just pimped up breadcrumbs in Italian. Torn bread cooked w/ garlic, zest, butter, chiles and herbs. So good, you will want to sprinkle them on everything.

I found this recipe in Nigel Slater's gorgeous book on vegetables, Tender, A Cook and His Vegetable Patch.



If you want to grow and eat your own vegetables, this is the book for you. Though Nigel lives in the UK, the book includes many US produce varieties and has been edited to US measurement conversions. (No metric system for us, thank you!).



Here is a version of Nigel's pangrattato: (pimped up breadcrumbs!)

about 4 slices of good Italian bread, torn into smallest pieces
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
pinch of red pepper flakes
zest of 1/2 orange
1 tbsp fresh chopped rosemary
a handful of chopped fresh parsley

1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into bite size pieces
olive oil and kosher salt

Lay the squash on a sheet pan and drizzle w/ olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with kosher salt and roast in a 400F oven for 20-25 minutes, turning the squash over once or twice.

While the squash is roasting, make the pangrattato.
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and butter. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Add the bread, the rosemary, chili flakes and zest and cook until the breadcrumbs are turning golden.

When the squash is caramelized, transfer to a bowl. Season w/ salt & pepper and spoon the pangrattato on top. Sprinkle w/ fresh parsley and serve.



LOVED!

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Comments

Ciao Chow Linda said…
I'd love of plate of this anytime but I think it would be great at a holiday or party table. by the way, pan grattato translates to simply "grated bread."
Joanne said…
How have I never heard of this given my serious Italian heritage? I feel a bit deprived.
Flora said…
This sounds great! I could sprinkle this on lots of things. Thank you.
Oui, Chef said…
This is a grand looking dish, can't wait to try it. I use seasoned breadcrumbs often as a crunchy topping for roasted veggies, but I'll need to try these pimped croutons.
Never heard the Italian word for this but I do love jazzed up breadcrumbs, and butternut squash is always here all winter. Love the orange zest!
Dana said…
Ever since discovering delicata squash, I've been substituting that for butternut in recipes. I love not having to peel it and I think it's prettier. But I recently used butternut instead and oh my, it's so much tastier. This looks marvelous.