Roasted Butternut Squash Polenta with Fried Sage

November 11, 2010.   1 Comments.   Categories Fabulous Side Dishes, Fall, Thanksgiving Dinner, Vegetarian.   Tags butternut squash, fall, fall recipes, polenta, pumpkin, sage, side dish, thanksgiving.

Roasted Butternut Squash Polenta with Fried Sage

A Harvest of Pumpkins and Squash

My office contains over 400 cookbooks.  You could say I’m an addict… I have more on my iPad but when it comes to cookbooks, I still prefer the real thing.  There is nothing like turning page after page in front of a warm fire with a glass of wine.

Nestled in many of those favorites are a number of books by Lou Seibert Pappas.  She has more than 50 cookbooks credited to her, all published by Chronicle Books.  Her topics vary from coffee cakes, fondue, and numerous books within the Williams-Sonoma cookbook collection, to one of my favorite books containing wonderful recipes for Fall ….A Harvest of Pumpkins and Squash.

This little book is full of great ideas but roasted butternut squash polenta is exceptional.  The fried sage adds such a savory kick of flavor.  Once you’ve made the sage, you’ll probably use it in other dishes as well.  Make this polenta as a side dish this Thanksgiving and I bet it will become a tradition.

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 1-pound piece of butternut squash or sugar pumpkin, peeled, seeded, and cut into  ½-inch dice
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup polenta
• 1 ½ cups cold water
• 2 cups homemade or canned low-sodium chicken broth
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 12 fresh sage leaves, chopped
• 1/3 cup (1 ½ ounces) freshly grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a bowl, toss the squash
with 2 tablespoons of the oil and spread on the prepared pan. Bake for
15 minutes.  Stir and turn the squash, and continue baking until tender
when pierced with a knife, 15 to 20 minutes longer.

In a medium bowl,
soak the polenta in the cold water for 10 minutes. In a large saucepan,
bring the broth to a boil over high heat. Stir in the polenta and any
remaining water, the salt, pepper and remaining 1 tablespoon oil.
Return to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring
occasionally, until thickened, about 15 minutes. Stir the squash into
the polenta and cook until heated through. Spoon into a hot bowl for
serving.

In a small saucepan, melt
the butter over medium heat and cook until it sizzles and browns
lightly, then add the sage and sauté until crisp. Scatter over the
polenta. Sprinkle with the cheese and serve at once.