Roasted Butternut Squash Wild Rice with Crispy Chard

Throughout the fall/winter I’m partnering with Local Roots NYC to create locally inspired eats. Many of the ingredients used in this recipe are sourced from local farms included in their community supported agriculture (CSA) program. Check out their Fall CSA that provides a weekly pick-up through December 6th! PLUS they are doing a super cool Thanksgiving CSA pop-up! Get in your orders by November 6th. 

 

Roasted Butternut Squash Wild Rice with Crispy Chard

¼ cup wild rice
¼ cup long grain brown rice
1 cup water
1 cup chicken broth
1 tsp salt
½ cup onion – minced
1 cup butternut squash – cubed
1 tsp cooking fat (lard or coconut oil)
1 bunch fresh chard – stems removed
freshly ground black pepper to taste


Soak both rices in one cup water overnight or at least one hour before cooking.
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Drain water from rice.

In a medium sized pot, saute the onion over medium heat with one tablespoon of chicken broth for 3 minutes. Add the rice, remaining chicken broth and ¼ tsp salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cover for 20 minutes until all broth is absorbed into rice.

Toss the butternut squash in a ½ teaspoon cooking fat and ¼ teaspoon salt. Spread evenly onto a roasting pan.

Then lightly coat the chard leaves with ½ teaspoon cooking fat. Line a roasting pan with parchment paper and spread out the chard leaves. Sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt.

Roast the butternut squash and chard simultaneously. The chard will be done in five minutes. The squash will take 20 minutes.

Toss the squash with the rice and then crumble in the crispy chard. Add remaining salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Roasted Butternut Squash Wild Rice with Crispy Chard
For a bigger flavor, drizzle your favorite dressing over the rice dish. I love the mix of sage, garlic and maple syrup in this Maple Sage Miso Vinaigrette.

 

Maple Sage Miso Vinaigrette
by Local Roots NYC member, Lee Harman

1 bunch fresh sage
¼ cup rice vinegar
1 tbsp mellow white miso
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 – 2 cloves garlic (fresh or roasted)
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ c neutral oil (canola, vegetable, avocado, etc)

Pick sage off stems.  You can save the stems for stock or discard; they are too tough to blend and may make your dressing bitter.  Add sage, vinegar, miso, mustard, maple syrup, and garlic to blender or food processor.  Purée until it’s as smooth as you can get it. Slowly pour in the oils.  Going slow is key here, because if you go too quickly the dressing will ‘break’ and separate.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  The dressing is ready to use right away, and can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Miso sage vinaigrette goes great on a salad with Local Roots NYC seasonal veggies or your local farmers’ market picks. Local Roots NYC builds a vibrant community around local food through a network of full diet CSAs and connect thousands of New Yorkers with local, sustainable produce. 

 Roasted Butternut Squash Wild Rice with Crispy Chard

Roasted Butternut Squash Wild Rice with Crispy Chard
Serves 4
Yummy, savory fall side dish with wild rice, butternut squash and crispy chard.
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Prep Time
5 min
Cook Time
35 min
Total Time
40 min
Prep Time
5 min
Cook Time
35 min
Total Time
40 min
Ingredients
  1. ¼ cup wild rice
  2. ¼ cup long grain brown rice
  3. 1 cup water
  4. 1 cup chicken broth
  5. 1 tsp salt
  6. ½ cup onion - minced
  7. 1 cup butternut squash - cubed
  8. 1 tsp cooking fat (lard or coconut oil)
  9. 1 bunch fresh chard - stems removed
  10. freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Soak both rices in one cup water overnight or at least one hour before cooking.
  2. Preheat oven to 400°F.
  3. Drain water from rice.
  4. In a medium sized pot, saute the onion over medium heat with one tablespoon of chicken broth for 3 minutes. Add the rice, remaining chicken broth and ¼ tsp salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cover for 20 minutes until all broth is absorbed into rice.
  5. Toss the butternut squash in a ½ teaspoon cooking fat and ¼ teaspoon salt. Spread evenly onto a roasting pan.
  6. Then lightly coat the chard leaves with ½ teaspoon cooking fat. Line a roasting pan with parchment paper and spread out the chard leaves. Sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt.
  7. Roast the butternut squash and chard simultaneously. The chard will be done in five minutes. The squash will take 20 minutes.
  8. Toss the squash with the rice and then crumble in the crispy chard. Add remaining salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
  9. Enjoy!
Sparkle Kitchen https://sparklekitchen.com/

 Roasted Butternut Squash Wild Rice with Crispy Chard

Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

This week I brought home the spaghetti squash to feed a village. The thing was at least 12 pounds! Check out the photo is you don’t believe me. It would be a big, blue ribbon winner in any county fair. Needless to say, I needed some recipes to use up all that squash.

First I made Brittany Angell’s Bacon Carbonara sauce with chicken. So delicious! The coconut milk is the perfect substitute for cream and I didn’t even miss the cheese. Now that’s a huge game changer. I thought creamy pasta sauces were expelled from my life, never to be enjoyed again. Coconut milk is saving my taste buds. The carbonara gave me a hankering for more cream-based pastas and I went all in for an old childhood favorite, spaghetti alfredo.

The sauce cooks in less time than the traditional dairy-filled version and is just as rich and creamy. I included heavy amounts of onion and garlic in this so if you’re not a fan just scale it back by half.

Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti Squash
Spaghetti Squash
Spaghetti Squash
Spaghetti Squash Alfredo
Alfredo
Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

Spaghetti Squash Alfredo
Serves 2
Rich, creamy dairy free alfredo sauce.
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Ingredients
  1. ½ cup full fat canned coconut milk
  2. 1 cup water
  3. 2 tbsp sweet onion – minced
  4. 2 garlic cloves – minced
  5. 1 tbsp arrowroot powder
  6. ¼ tsp salt
  7. ½ tsp pepper
  8. ½ tsp dried basil
  9. ½ tsp dried oregano
  10. ¼ tsp lemon
  11. 1 tbsp fresh parsley – chopped
Instructions
  1. ►Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Prepare the squash. Slice in half lengthways and place skin-side-up in a shallow baking pan filled with a ½ inch of water. Roast for 1 hour until tender and the meat easily pulls away from the skin.
  2. ►For the sauce, place onion and garlic in a food processor and pulse until fine. Set aside.
  3. ►Heat coconut milk and water over medium heat in a small sauce pan, stirring constantly. When it begins to simmer, turn down to low heat. Stir in the minced onion and garlic.
  4. ►Slowly add in the arrowroot a ½ tbsp at a time, stirring constantly to avoid any lumps. Cook for five minutes until mixture begins to thicken. If too thick, add more water and if too thin add ½ more tbsp of arrowroot.
  5. ►Once to the right thickness, add in all spices and mix well.
  6. ►Toss with spaghetti squash and serve topped with parsley. You can add your favorite fish or seafood to this dish for a complete meal. I paired mine with yummy wild caught salmon.
Adapted from Brittany Angell’s Bacon Carbonara
Sparkle Kitchen https://sparklekitchen.com/

Lemon Pepper Pan-Roasted Swordfish

Lemon Pepper Swordfish

My grandparents had a swordfish mounted above the sofa in their living room. It was a trophy. And a reminder of all the family deep-sea fishing adventures. I went once. Caught an impressive Mahi Mahi and proudly served it to my parents for dinner that night.  Then my fishing days were over. I was much more interested in the cooking and eating than the hunt.

Swordfish is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids that helps the body heal inflammation. It also contains the important micronutrient selenium. Selenium allows the body to maintain proper thyroid function and has been shown to play a role in combating heart disease. Many people avoid the larger game fish from fear of the high mercury content. Although when selenium and mercury are found together they bind, which prevents the body from absorbing mercury. And a few studies have even found that selenium neutralizes other mercury found in the body. Fear not the large fish in the sea! They’re here to help us.

Growing up, we ate fish a couple of times per week and swordfish was one of our staples. My dad would grill the fish and my mom would sauté some fresh veggies with wild rice. Then we’d top is all off with lemon caper butter. It was always one of my favorites. And I continue to associate swordfish with that amazing topping.

I recreated the dish with sautéed yellow peppers, onion and garlic scapes. The rice is omitted but it’s easy to substitute some cauliflower rice. It’s a good vehicle for the butter sauce.

Lemon Pepper Swordfish

Makes 2 servings.

1 lb swordfish steaks

4 tbsp butter

1 yellow pepper (sliced)

1 onion (sliced)

handful of garlic scapes

salt

pepper

1/4 cup capers

juice of 1 lemon

1 garlic clove

►Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

►Grease an 11″x9″ baking dish with 1 tablespoon of melted butter.

►Sprinkle the fish with salt and pepper on both sides.

►Melt butter over medium high heat in a large, heavy skillet.

►Add the fish and cook on each side for 2 minutes.

►Transfer the fish to your prepared baking dish and bake for 10 minutes until fish is just done. It will continue to cook a bit once you remove it from the oven.

►In a separate baking dish, toss the yellow peppers, onions and garlic scapes with a tbsp of butter and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Bake on the lower rack in the over for 10 minutes. This can be in the same oven as the fish so everything is ready together.

►For the lemon caper butter, combine 1 tbsp of melted butter, 1 clove chopped garlic, lemon juice and capers. Serve drizzled over the fish.

Tip: My husband gave me the best tip for capers. Throw them in the oven for an hour at 300 degrees and they become a crunchy, salty topping.