Welcome to The Storied Recipe Podcast, a podcast about food, culture, and love.
This recipe for this Layered Italian Roasted Butternut Squash recipe came from my podcast guest, Lenka Salinger. Make sure you listen to her episode No Beaches In Berlin while you make her Italian Roasted Butternut Squash Parmesan with Tomato!
Lenka shared this elegant layered, sliced butternut squash dish with us. Think of it as a delicious squash recipe that is slightly sweeter, more colorful cousin to Eggplant Parmesan, but more colorful due to the beautiful colors from the squash which makes it the perfect dish for the autumnal time of year-- one that your entire family will have a hard time putting down.
I made three to photograph. After shooting around lunchtime, they went so quickly that I hurriedly assembled the rest of the cooked squash into additional stacks of squash, cheese, a rich tomato sauce full of olives, and topped with sesame seeds and fried sage. My oldest son wandered down into the kitchen where my husband and I were indulging in seconds. After that, the other two stacks disappeared just as quickly!
P.S. Check out a few of my other favorite side dishes: Tiropitas (Greek Cheese Triangle Pies) from my podcast guest Dilka, or Mirza Ghasemi (Persian Smoked Eggplant and Eggs Dip) from my podcast guest Haniyeh.
Lenka's Memories of Making Recipe
[This recipe] was one of the first recipes to publish on my blog, and I'm pretty sure it's the recipe I've made the most over the years. It's simple, but satisfying and also rather impressive to look at. It's the perfect dinner when friends come over. And not only I have cooked it a lot, but my mother has, and my brother, my cousin and I guess some strangers were delighted by it as well.
-Lenka Salinger
Ingredients & Substitutions
This recipe only uses simple ingredients and is a favorite way of mine to eat a lot of fresh veggies that taste amazing and are a joy to look at.
- Butternut squash - around 400g or a small butternut squash
- Mozzarella
- Scamorza (optional) - this is a cow cheese from Southern Italy that has a mild flavor that is similar to mozzarella
- Fresh Parmesan Cheese - such as Pecorino Romano
- Onion
- Garlic
- Plum Tomatoes
- Fresh Basil - you can also add other fresh herbs such as parsley for a topping
- Back Olives (optional)
- Sea Salt
- Ground Black Pepper
- Muscovado Sugar (optional) - this is to balance the acidity from the tomatoes
- Olive Oil
Variations on Recipe
Adding Panko Bread Crumbs
- There are many different ways to make this dish, but a common addition in other recipes is to add panko breadcrumbs. This is a great way to add crunch without detracting from the other flavors of this simple side dish. All you will need to do is add the remaining cheese from the Parmesan in a small bowl to the bread crumb mixture, beat an egg, dip the squash slices in both then bake in the oven before assembling it into a tower.
Adding Spice
- If you want to add a little heat for extra flavor, consider adding some red pepper flakes to your tomato mixture.
Instructions
- Set the oven temperature to 375ºF / 190ºC.
- Peel and cut the butternut squash from the upper and lower parts. Place squash slices as a single layer on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
- Bake in the oven.
- Meanwhile, chop and cook the onion and garlic until transparent. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, and sugar. Crush the tomatoes with a spoon and add basil.
- Simmer until it thickens.
- Cut the cheese into slices.
- Once the squash is cooked, put some tomato sauce on top.
- Add a slice of each cheese, olive slices, and sprinkle freshly-grated parmesan cheese. Put another squash slice on top and repeat. Add the remaining parmesan on top of the stack.
- Bake until the cheese is melted.
Summer Squash vs Winter Squash
Winter squash
- Butternut squash, acorn squash, and pumpkins are all winter squashes
- They have a sweet flavor with thick skin and dense flesh so you must peel the skin before eating it
- Holds up well when baking or roasting
- They are ready to harvest in late summer or early fall (September/October)
Summer squash
- Such as yellow summer squash and zucchini
- They have thin, delicate skin so you don't have to peel it before eating
- The flowers are also edible, such as the yellow flowers from zucchini plants
- They are ready to harvest in early summer to early fall (June/September)
source: Good Food
Equipment
- Baking sheet OR sheet pan
- Skillet
- Baking dish (optional)
Storage
- Can be refrigerated in an airtight container for 3-5 days
- Can freeze for up to 3 months
More Mediterranean Recipes
More Vegetarian Recipes
Listen to Lenka's Episode Now
"No Beaches in Berlin" with Lenka Salinger
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Recipe
Italian Roasted Butternut Squash Parmesan with Tomato
Ingredients
- 1/2 small Butternut Squash (around 400g)
- 1 Mozzarella
- a few slices Scamorza (optional) *See Note 1
- Fresh Parmesan Cheese
- 1 small Onion
- 1 Garlic Clove
- 1 can Plum Tomatoes
- 1 sprig Fresh Basil
- a few Black Olives (optional)
- 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
- Black Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Muscovado Sugar (optional) *See Note 2
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
Instructions
Cue Up The Episode
- Make sure to listen to Lenka on The Storied Recipe Podcast, No Beaches in Berlin while you make her Italian Roasted Butternut Squash Recipe!
Make The Recipe
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF / 190ºC.
- Peel the butternut squash. Cut 6 round, 1cm thick slices of the upper and lower part, it’s fine if some have a hole, but you don’t want it to be big.
- Put the squash slices on a baking tray, sprinkle them with 1 teaspoon olive oil and ½ teaspoon salt, and bake them for 20 min.
- While the squash is in the oven, add oil to a heated skillet and add chopped onion and garlic until transparent (3-5min).
- Then add the tomatoes, salt and pepper, and the muscovado sugar (optional, to cut the acidity). Use a wooden spoon to crush the tomatoes with torn basil leaves.
- Let it simmer for 20 minutes, or until it develops a thick texture.
- Cut the Mozzarella and Scamorza (if you are using this) into slices.
Assemble The Layers
- Take the butternut squash slices out of the oven, and transfer them to a casserole dish or baking sheet.
- Put a spoonful of tomato sauce on top of two stacked slices.
- Then, add a slice of Mozzarella and Scamorza, scatter some of the olive slices on top of the cheese, and sprinkle a little parmesan cheese.
- Put another butternut squash slice on top and repeat adding the other ingredients. Probably repeat only once because if you stack too large it will topple over!
- On top of the last one add some more of the Parmesan.
- Put into the oven for 10 more minutes or until the cheese is melted and getting a little brown and crispy on the top.
- Optional: Lenka added a few fried sage leaves with a little olive oil and formed little balls of pumpkin seed butter for the top.
Notes
- Note 1: This is a cow cheese from Southern Italy that has a mild flavor that is similar to mozzarella
- Note 2: This is added to balance the acidity from the tomatoes
- Make sure to listen to Lenka on The Storied Recipe Podcast, No Beaches in Berlin while you make her Layered Sliced Butternut Squash Recipe!
Would love to hear from you!