butternut squash meets eggplant

My generous in-laws texted me on their way out of town and asked if they could drop off some produce. With the budget a bit extra-tight these days, I was delighted to accept. She dropped off about 20 different kinds of things, including 2 butternut squash and a whole eggplant. I "googled" butternut squash + eggplant, and hit on this hit of a recipe (recipe & picture both from Reader's Digest). The 2 year old wasn't much for it, but she thinks the only foods necessary for life are yogurt & PB, so that doesn't mean it's not a good kid dish. The 5 year old liked it, and the 1 year old couldn't get enough. Mr. Improv & I both had the leftovers for lunch the next day and they were even better.

I essentially followed the recipe (copied for you below), with these exceptions:

*I didn't have broth of any kind, so I added 2T dried onion to the fresh, and 2 cups water

*I didn't have white wine, so I used 1t rice wine vinegar, 1T cider vinegar, 1t honey, and 1/3 cup water

*I didn't have corn, so I skipped that

*I didn't have parsley, but I chopped up fresh baby spinach instead. It didn't taste at all like spinach but it added color and nutrition to the dish

*I made polenta from scratch (super easy); once it was done I stirred in 1T butter and 1/2 cup fresh parmesan

*I doubled the parsley (spinach) and almonds for the topping, but still only used 1 clove fresh garlic. It was perfect that way

*I don't have a Dutch oven, but my skillet is oven-proof so I used that to brown & bake

This is going in our regular "we've GOT to break of our our rut" lineup. It looks a teensy bit complicated at first, but once you read it over, it's pretty easy and is done in stages. Oh, one more thing: I took my first bite without any topping on it. It was great. But then I took my second bite with the topping and it was scrumptious. Don't skimp on the topping - spread it generously everywhere!

Ingredients

Vegetables

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, cut into 8 wedges
• 12 baby corn
• 1 small or 1/2 large butternut squash, peeled, quartered lengthwise, seeded, and cut across into 1-inch slices
• 1 eggplant, halved lengthwise and cut across into 1-inch slices
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 cups reduced-sodium
• vegetable broth
• Salt and pepper

Topping

• 2 tablespoons slivered almonds
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• Finely shredded or coarsely
• grated zest of 1 lemon
• 5 tablespoons chopped parsley

Polenta

• 1 cup instant polenta
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano

How to make it  1 hour, 5minutes



• 1
  Heat the oil in a flameproof casserole. Add the onion wedges and baby corn and sauté over a medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• 2
  Add the slices of butternut squash to the casserole, toss them in the oil, and then stir in the eggplant and red
  pepper. Cover and leave the vegetables to cook over a low to medium heat, turning them twice, until they are lightly tinged golden brown, about 10 minutes. Pour in the wine, let it sizzle, and then stir in the broth. Bring to a boil and add seasoning to taste. Cover the casserole and cook in the oven for 30 minutes.
• 3
  Meanwhile, make the topping. Preheat the grill to high. Spread the slivered almonds on a baking tray and toast
  under the grill until they are lightly browned. Watch them closely and shake the tray occasionally to ensure the nuts are evenly toasted. Place in a small bowl and mix in the remaining topping ingredients.
• 4
  To prepare the polenta, bring 3 cups water to a boil in a large saucepan over a high heat. Gradually whisk in the
  polenta and continue whisking until the polenta absorbs all the liquid. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring, until the polenta is thick, 5–10 minutes. Beat in the Parmesan cheese and oregano with seasoning to taste.
• 5
  To serve, spoon the polenta onto plates or into large individual bowls. Ladle the vegetable casserole on top and
  sprinkle with the topping.