Who wants to be cooking all night at their own party? I tried to design a menu that could stand on its own at room temperature for the whole evening. I set up a Make Your Own Crostini table (which negates the problem of soggy toasts) with four topping choices: roasted beets with parmigiano and basil (adapted from the Babbo recipe), the chicken liver paté with red onion confit, blackened eggplant puree with red peppers and garlic, and the surprise hit, this roasted butternut squash topping. A little sweet, nutty and bright, it smacks of autumn.
Roasted Butternut Squash Crostini
1 large butternut squash
2 tbsp. chopped sage
olive oil
salt
pepper
1/2 c. pumpkin seeds
hazelnut oil
toasts
Peel and chop the butternut into small dice. Toss with sage, salt, pepper and olive oil. Roast in 400 degree oven on a baking sheet for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until squash is caramelized and tender but not quite jammy. Place into your serving bowl.
While the squash is in the oven, toast the pumpkin seeds in a dry pan over high heat. Throw the pumpkin seeds on top of the squash and anoint the whole thing with a splash of hazelnut oil. Serve at room temp with toasts.
I'm definitely making this soon -- sounds so yummy! I'm curious, did you have a full-on dinner or just the Crostini table? (Great idea, btw.) If a full meal, I'm dying to know what else was on the menu!
Wasn't a full dinner. Was just lots of nosh -- bacon wrapped dates with goat cheese and marcona almonds, rosemary fingerlings, charcuterie, cheeses, roasted seckel pears with maple, radishes, olives. I love eating that way.
This looks phenomenal. Not a ton of ingredients but every item adds quite a bit of depth. I can't wait to make it!