Life Of Pie
Possible titles for this post also included:
Don't Believe Me Just Squash
Pie Dream of Jeannie
Build Me Up, Butternut (This was by far my favorite but I couldn't bring myself to use a song-related pun again.)
I remember reading Life of Pi way back in the day -- probably freshman year of high school or somewhere around there. It was rough.
Spoiler alert: you have to get through a whole crap ton of depressing stuff before anything even remotely good happens. Plus that whole thing with the tiger? Ugh, break my heart why don't you.
The movie was a thousand times worse. There's nothing like seeing all that depressing stuff from the book live and in color (albeit with some truly exquisite cinematography). Ultimately it was obviously an amazing movie but not one that I'm ever going to subject myself to again -- even though I know how it ends.
This recipe is kind of similar in that you have to suffer a little bit to get to the magic. Conversely, I would absolutely suffer again because this ish is delish. I present to you: butternut squash pie with hazelnuts.
Stay with me here, I know it sounds radical (and kind of gross) but it's actually amazeballs and you will love it just like I did. The hazelnuts add a really great textural component and their slight bitterness helps even out the rich flavors of the pie filling.
Additionally, butternut squash is a hugely underrated kind of pie filling. It's warm and cozy and also full of vitamins and minerals (an added bonus). Acorn squash would also be good in this, although I don't know if it holds its shape as well as b-nut. Additionally, if you can get pre-sliced squash that would be a good thing. If you can't, peel a butternut squash with a vegetable peeler -- it will change your life/the way you prep butternut squash.
This also will make a gorgeous side dish at Thanksgiving if you want to break from the sweet potato casserole camp. Meat eater hack: add 1/2 cup of cooked, crumbled sausage to the mixture before baking it in the pie shell.
Ingredients:
1 butternut squash, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 tbs. evoo
1 yellow onion, roughly chopped
2 tbs. dry white wine
3/4 c. freshly grated parmigiano reggiano
1/2 c. toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 c. breadcrumbs
1 9-inch frozen pie crust (preferably whole wheat)
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400F. In a large bowl, toss squash with 2 tbs. of olive oil, salt and pepper. Arrange on a baking sheet in a single layer and roast, tossing occasionally, until squash is golden brown and tender, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove to a large bowl and set aside.
2. Heat remaining EVOO in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until browned. Add wine and deglaze for another minute, scraping up any browned bits.
3. Add onion mixture to the squash with the parmigiano, egg and breadcrumbs. Toss gently to combine. Transfer to pie crust, pat down gently and bake until crust is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving. Best eaten the same day.
