Maggie Klein's Squash Gratin with Garlic and Olive Oil

This recipe comes from a book by Maggie Klein, owner of the justly famous Oliveto restaurant. This remains my favorite recipe from Maggie's book, and one that I have been serving for Thanksgiving dinner just about every year since then.

Mon, Feb 08 2010 at 12:28 PM EST

Ingredients

5 pounds butternut or other firm orange squash
12 cloves garlic, minced
1 large bunch parsley, finely chopped
1 heaping teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1⁄2 cup flour
3⁄4 cup olive oil

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
Peel and seed the squash and cut it into 1⁄3-inch cubes.
Combine in a large bowl with the garlic and parsley.
Season with salt and pepper, then sprinkle in the flour and toss until all the cubes are coated with flour.
Oil a large gratin dish or wide, shallow casserole with a little of the oil.
Spread the squash mixture in the dish and drizzle the remaining oil over the squash in a crisscross fashion.
Bake until the top forms a crisp, brown crust, about 2 hours.

Time Estimates

Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: 2 hours

Total time: 2 hours 15 min

Yield

Serves 12

Good to know

Years ago, after the manuscript for my first cookbook was done, my publisher hired me to test recipes for another book, on olives and olive oil. The author, Maggie Klein, went on to open the justly famous Oliveto restaurant in Oakland, and her book has gone through a couple of incarnations but is now out of print. If you can find a copy of either the original 1983 Aris Books edition of The Feast of the Olive or the later Chronicle Books edition, jump on it.

Menu

Thanksgiving Dinner

Your turn to host Thanksgiving? There's no need to hide the beer and serve only wine. Here is a menu that should satisfy the traditionalists but provide plenty of opportunity to show off your favorite seasonal beers. There's also enough meatless stuff here to take care of the vegetarians in the crowd. (Note that this is not a complete menu; let those folks who ask what they can contribute bring the salad, bread, and pie. Assign someone to bring wine or other beverages for the non-beer drinkers.)

Also from The Microbrew Lover's Cookbook:

• From the Beer Belt

• Pizza and Beyond

• From the Spice Bazaar

• Malt and Hops, Meet Ginger and Soy

• From the Home of the Chile Pepper

• Beer in the Melting Pot

Go back to The Microbrew Lover's Cookbook index page.