Roasted butternut squash wedges turn meltingly tender and sweet, topped with a vibrant tomato sauce and melted taleggio. The dish is paired with fragrant rice studded with roasted garlic and finished with a crisp, zesty butterhead lettuce salad for a perfect balance of textures.
Prep:less than 30 mins
Cook:1 to 2 hours
Serves:Serves 4
Dietary:Healthy, Pregnancy-friendly, Vegetarian
By Yotam OttolenghiFrom Saturday Kitchen
This butternut ‘parmigiana’ with baked garlic rice receives a Nutri-Score of D due to the high saturated fat content from the cheese, butter and pine nuts combined with moderate carbohydrate levels from the rice and squash.
Per serving (approximate): 680 kcal, 32g fat (of which 16g saturates), 65g carbohydrates, 10g sugars, 4g fibre, and 18g protein.
Equipment
Ingredients
For the butternut ‘parmigiana’
- 1 large butternut squash, about 1.3kg/3lb, unpeeled, halved lengthways and deseeded
- 105ml/3½fl oz olive oil
- 4–5 plum tomatoes, grated, skins discarded
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- ⅛ tsp ground allspice
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp caster sugar
- 25g/1oz panko breadcrumbs
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 2 tsp za’atar
- 4 oregano sprigs
- 125g/4½oz taleggio, brie or mozzarella, thinly sliced
For the baked garlic rice
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 large garlic heads, top 1cm/½in removed
- 50g/1¾oz unsalted butter
- 4 bay leaves
- 10 whole cloves
- 6 cardamom pods, bashed open
- 1 lemon, zest thinly pared into 4 strips
- 400g/14oz basmati rice, rinsed and drained
- 800ml boiling chicken or vegetable stock, or water
For the butterhead lettuce salad
- 20g/1oz pine nuts
- 50ml/2fl oz cold-pressed rapeseed oil or olive oil
- 40ml white grapefruit juice or lemon juice
- ½ small shallot, finely chopped, about 15g/½oz
- ½ tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp runny honey or maple syrup
- 1 butterhead or British round lettuce (about 200g/7oz), leaves separated and washed
- Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- A few oregano leaves, to garnish
Customise
- Swap taleggio for a vegetarian hard cheese if you prefer a firmer texture
- Replace basmati rice with brown basmati rice for a nuttier flavour and extra fibre
- Use acorn squash instead of butternut squash if that is what looks best in the shops
- Swap pine nuts for toasted pistachios or hazelnuts in the salad for a different crunch
- Omit the butter from the rice for a lighter version, using a little more olive oil instead
Method
Roast the Butternut Squash (35 mins)
- Preheat and season — Get your oven up to 240C/220C Fan/Gas 9. Cut each butternut squash half into three long wedges and put them in a large high-sided roasting tin. Rub them with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and season well with ½ teaspoon salt and plenty of black pepper.
- Roast the squash — Slide the tin into the oven and roast the squash for about 35 minutes until it is nicely browned and cooked through — you want it tender but still holding its shape.
- Prepare the sauce and crumbs — While the squash roasts, mix the grated tomatoes, tomato purée, ground allspice, cumin, cinnamon, caster sugar, 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, 2 tablespoons water and ½ teaspoon salt in a small bowl to make a thick sauce. In another bowl, mix the panko breadcrumbs, crushed garlic, ½ teaspoon za’atar and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.
- Assemble the parmigiana — Remove the squash from the oven and pour the tomato sauce around the wedges, tucking the oregano sprigs in amongst them. Lay the cheese slices evenly over the squash and sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture on top. Drizzle over the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and return the tin to the oven for a final 10 to 15 minutes until everything is golden and bubbling.
- Finish the squash — Take the tin out of the oven, sprinkle the remaining za’atar and oregano leaves over the top, and set the butternut ‘parmigiana’ aside while you finish the rice and salad.
Roast the Garlic and Bake the Rice (40 mins — can overlap with squash roasting)
- Roast the garlic — Turn the oven down to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7. Drizzle the olive oil over the cut sides of the garlic heads, seasoning each with ⅛ teaspoon of salt, and place them cut-side down in a large ovenproof dish about 30cm/12in wide. Roast them for 15 minutes until they feel soft, then transfer the garlic heads to a plate.
- Add aromatics to the rice — Increase the oven temperature to 230C Fan. Add the unsalted butter, bay leaves, cloves, bashed cardamom pods, lemon zest, rice and boiling stock or water to the dish. Add ½ teaspoon salt and plenty of black pepper, stir everything together well, and put the garlic heads back in on top of the rice, cut-side up.
- Cover and bake — Cover the surface of the rice with a sheet of baking paper, then cover the whole dish tightly with a lid or kitchen foil. Pop it in the oven for 25 minutes, then remove it and leave it to steam, covered, for 10 minutes — this resting time is crucial for fluffy rice.
- Finish the rice — Fluff the rice gently with a fork, then squeeze the soft roasted garlic cloves from their skins and fold them through the grains for that incredible flavour.
Make the Salad (10 mins — do this just before serving)
- Toast the nuts — Toast the pine nuts in a small frying pan over a medium heat for about 5 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until they turn golden. Remove them from the heat and leave to cool slightly.
- Make the dressing — Whisk the rapeseed or olive oil, grapefruit or lemon juice, finely chopped shallot, Dijon mustard, and runny honey or maple syrup together with ½ teaspoon salt and a little black pepper. Finely chop the warm pine nuts and whisk them straight into the dressing.
- Dress the lettuce — Toss the butterhead lettuce with about half the dressing to coat it evenly. Transfer the remaining dressing to a clean jar and pop it in the fridge to save for another time.
Assemble and Serve (5 mins)
- Plate the dish — Serve the baked garlic rice alongside the hot, bubbling butternut ‘parmigiana’. Place the dressed butterhead lettuce on the side, garnish with a few oregano leaves, and enjoy straight away.