Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Pickled Butternut Squash with Burrata

Pickled pumpkin has such a nice ring to it, and that’s what this was supposed to be. The page for this salad had been marked since March when I first got the book My Favorite Ingredients. I had waited months to try it, and when I had an extra butternut squash and some tomatoes on hand from our CSA, I went for it. With a mix of both winter squash and tomatoes, it’s a perfect cross-over season dish. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve tried from this book. Interesting flavor combinations and simple, seasonal dishes keep me coming back to it. The chapters in the book are organized by ingredient, and this salad is from the vinegar chapter. The butternut squash was pickled in red wine vinegar, and the salad was finished with aged balsamic. The vinegars were balanced by the sweetness of the squash and slow-roasted tomatoes and the beautiful, creamy, fresh burrata.

To begin, you should pop the tomatoes in the oven since they slow-roast for three to four hours. Of course, this can be done in advance, and the tomatoes can be stored in the refrigerator. Halved tomatoes were sprinkled with salt and pepper and roasted at 250 degrees F until shriveled with concentrated flavor. For the pickles, sugar was combined with red wine vinegar, a bottle of dry, white wine, some bay leaves, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, a bunch of thyme, and a hot chile. The mixture was warmed until the sugar dissolved while the butternut squash was seeded and sliced. The peel was left on the squash to keep the thin pieces intact while cooking. The squash slices were placed in the pickling liquid where they simmered for about an hour and then were allowed to cool. I picked the squash pickles out of the liquid and strained the liquid back over the pickles before storing them in the refrigerator. Readying the tomatoes and pickles took some time, but it was mostly waiting time. Then, putting together the salad was a breeze. The dressing for the salad was a mix of fresh oregano leaves chopped with some salt and combined with lemon juice and olive oil. The pickled squash and roasted tomatoes were arranged on plates and topped with burrata, that was drizzled with the oregano dressing, and then aged balsamic was dribbled on the plate.

This was my kind of salad since I like just about any kind of pickle. The butternut squash slices had softened a little but retained some texture, and you could cook them more or less to achieve whatever level of crispness you prefer. As they were, they provided nice textural contrast with the roasted tomatoes and burrata. And, there were plenty of leftover pickles. They're great for snacking straight out of the refrigerator.



27 comments:

  1. That is such an original combination! I love burrata.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  2. what a lovely idea this is. i would really love to try this recipe. sounds so good. thank you for sharing this. *hugs*

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  3. Oh my gosh! This is SO up my alley. I have to confess to butternut squashing my husband to death every fall. Apparently I've already overdone it for the year - he says no more. But I will make this for myself happily. What a gorgeous recipe. Thanks for sharing and I can't wait to check out the book.

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  4. wow This is a very autumny salad! I love the combination.

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  5. MMM this looks so good. I just tried burrata for the first time a couple weeks ago. Where has it been all my life?!

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  6. I saw some burrata in the market the other day too. This is really an interesting recipe. I've never pickled squash, but it sounds wonderful. I do know that tomatoes roasted that way are amazingly flavorful.

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  7. It looks good for sure. I've never pickled a squash but it is an interesting new way to eat it (new for me at least!) Looks delicious!

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  8. I've been eating butternut squash for the past 2 days (will probably post it later in the week). I hadn't thought about pickling them but they're so delicious and versatile, I don't see why not.

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  9. Hmm, pickled butternut sounds really interesting. I need to try my hand at pickling.

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  10. The sounds of pickle has already made my mouth water. Loving butternut squsah very much !

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  11. A gorgeous combination of colors! It sounds so flavorful.

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  12. I will eat anything and everything that has burrata on it. Had this great dish at Trattoria Mozza in Los Angeles that mimics the flavors you have here. Only, instead of squash being pickled, it was leeks, roasted till caramelized, then dressed with a sharp vinaigrette. Was astounding against the creamy, milky burrata.

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  13. Burrata Burrata. Oh what a wonder. It simply is the best thing! This dish is simply gorgeous! YUMM!

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  14. I was just espousing the deliciousness of burrata last night! Isn't the best isn't it! :D

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  15. I had pickled squash on a cruise this past summer and it was actually the only thing I enjoyed eating! I am so glad you shared this because I have been meaning to recreate it. Love the sound of it with the burrata!

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  16. They remind me of melons. Pickling butternut squash is new to me, very interesting combo!

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  17. Pickled butternut squash? That is really new to me.

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  18. Wow Lisa, this is different & interesting. I do love burrata so pickled pumpkin flavours mixed together sounds fabulous.

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  19. Very interesting recipe. Sounds delicious.

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  20. I've never pickled pumpkin or butternut squash, but this looks absolutely divine. DIVINE! Starving now...

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  21. This sounds like a fabulous seasonal dish. What a great combo of flavors. I've never pickled any form of pumpkin or squash but am intrigued by the concept!

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  22. Love the combination! A perfect salad for the season!

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  23. how impressive. i've certainly never pickled my squash, but it's an interesting idea! and that burrata--awesome. bonus--it's fun to say with rolled r's. :)

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  24. What a lovely and impressive dish - such a cool idea to pickle squash!

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  25. This headline had me on my knees -- seriously. Pickled butternut squash? And burrata? How ingenious -- and how decadent. I do believe you're my current hero!

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  26. Never would have thought of pickling a pumpkin, and yes it has a lovely ring in those 2 words. It sounds really wonderful!

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  27. What an intriguing recipe, I cannot wait to try. I'd never thought of this combo in a million years yet it sounds just wonderful and right up my alley too.

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