Squash-Grain Casserole Recipe

Version shown with no sunflower seeds 

 Squash-Grain Casserole Recipe---Jody-Lynn Reicher

Way back for about eight years, we started doing Thanksgiving differently. Basically, I told my in-laws I would do the whole thing. Yet my mother-in-law lived 15 minutes away and she would be the host. She had a bigger home, she liked hosting at her home, and she had a dishwasher as we'd use her dishes and silverware for Thanksgiving. So here, I'll share one of the 26 dishes I'd prepared with the turkey and brought over to her home. Only the first of two here today, are ones I'd just started making for the first time this year.

The first is a squash grain dish I'd ordered out when visiting Vermont in October this year. I had it twice and decided it could be prepared in various versions depending on the aim of who's eating it and if it were meant as a week's long side or as part of a holiday meal or going solo for the week and wanting to have a one dish meal that was balanced. The first one is a Squash-Grain Dish. I enjoyed having a beef burger medium to well done with it out at a Vermont restaurant; however, back home I made a veggie burger made with some black beans to accompany my altered Squash-Grain Casserole. I also made the casserole without the two grains of quinoa and barley and added green peas when warming up the casserole the next day on the stove. Also, grilled salmon or cooked chicken breast could be fab. There are so many variations I have thought of for this recipe. Here I am presenting what I believe to be the original one I’d ordered out twice this year, and it was a delight.

Squash-Grain Casserole

Items needed:

About 18 centimeters/7 inches in diameter one whole pumpkin*

9 x 23 centimeters/3.5 inches in width x 9 inches in height of one whole butternut squash

14 centimeters/5.5 inches in diameter one whole acorn squash

2lb bag of orange carrots

14 centimeters/5.5 inches in diameter one whole honeynut squash* *

3 cups of cooked Multi-colored Quinoa

3 cups of cooked Barley

1 cup of roasted, lightly salted sunflower seeds+**

1.5 cups of roasted, lightly salted pumpkin seeds

Olive oil

Coconut oil

Salt

Black Pepper

Large stainless steel frying pan

Four medium sized bowls

Peeler

Strainer

Small bowls for seeds

Wood Cutting Board 30 centimeters/12 inches square or rectangular 45 centimeters/18 inches in length and 30 centimeters/12 inches in width. I prefer the rectangular boards for more space.

Small, serrated knife

Large, serrated knife

A couple casserole dishes

Perhaps some Tupperware containers as casserole dishes may not be fully optional.

 

Preparation time is 2 hours and 45 minutes.

I prefer the use of knives in peeling the larger tougher skinned squashes. I use the peeler for items like carrots and thinner-skinned vegetables, squashes and the like.

Wash the outside of the squashes, carrots and pumpkin. Dry them off and pick one to start peeling, then cleaning out the seeds and such from the inside. Put the seeds of each item into separate small bowls to clean later and either give to a gardener or clean and hold onto for anything you could grow inside or outside your home.

After you’ve peeled the first squash or pumpkin set aside and put two tablespoons of olive oil in the large frying pan and place on low heat/flame.

Take the squash or pumpkin you just peeled and cut into one-inch cubes and place them into a large frying pan. Then peel the next squash/pumpkin item and repeat until done. What I do is fold each of the squash and pumpkin items into the pan as the newer cut cubes are then rotated to the bottom of the pan.*+

I wash, then peel, cut diagonally then put the carrots last in the large pan. Again, work on cooking all vegetables evenly, stirring, folding to the bottom of the pan the less cooked vegetables. Add salt and pepper lightly a few times. You may have to add a little extra olive oil here and there to prevent sticking. You want the vegetables to maintain form; however be soft enough to ‘fork tender’, not mushy.

When everything is done cooking then toss in the pumpkin and sunflower seeds and mix evenly. Then when ready to serve place a desired amount of a scoop of each grain on top of the serving per person. This can be served hot (which I’d prefer), or at room-temperature.

 *+Note: Having the four Medium sized bowls you can portion out either prior to cooking, depending on the size of your pan, so you can balance out the squashes, pumpkin and carrots as they cook. You do not want a mushy mix of vegetables.

 * if you can’t find one you can replace it with another honeynut squash

** if you can’t find one you can replace it with another acorn or pumpkin squash

+**Option, if you don’t desire sunflower seeds