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Menu Plan for Winter I: Week 2, Saturday
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Daily Recipes:
Butternut Squash Timbales with Mushrooms
Braised Lamb with Red Peppers
Roasted Potatoes
Cooking time: 75 minutes for menu Cooking schedule: see below for instructions
Start the lamb; make the timbales; scrub the potatoes; relax. This is the opposite of Friday's dinner, all the work is before the starter. Save the tomato sauce for later in the week.
Butternut Squash Timbales with Mushrooms
Total time: 45 minutes
The savory onions and mushrooms are a nice contrast with the slightly sweet butternut squash.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups butternut squash, shredded
- pinch of nutmeg, salt
- 2 tbs milk
- 1/4 cup (1oz, 30gr) shredded cheese
- 1 tsp Dijon-style mustard
- 1 egg
- butter
- Mushrooms
- 1 onion
- 4oz (120gr) mushrooms
- 1/4 cup (2ozm 60gr) beef stock
- 1 tbs whole-grain mustard
- 2 tsp olive oil
Instructions:
- Butter 2 ramekins and line with buttered parchment or waxed paper (see Miscellaneous Tips).
- Make 2 more circles and butter one side for the top.
- Clean butternut squash and shred part of it using the smaller holes on a box grater. You want enough to almost fill the ramekins very loosely.
- Beat egg lightly.
- Add butternut squash, cheese, mustard, nutmeg, salt, milk and mix well.
- Spoon into prepared ramekins. Cover with the top circle. Put into a roasting pan with deep sides - I use a metal bread pan, and add hot water (hot tap water is fine) so that it comes half way up the sides of the ramekins. Bake in 400F (200C) oven for 30 minutes, until set - top will be firm.
- Remove from oven and carefully remove ramekins from hot water.
- Remove paper. Run a knife around edges of timbales and invert onto small plates. Remove paper.
- Spoon Mushrooms on the side and serve.
- Mushrooms
- Chop onion; slice mushrooms.
- Heat oil in a medium skillet. Add onions and sauté over high heat for 5 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and sauté until very tender and starting to caramelize, about 15 minutes longer.
- Add mushrooms and increase heat to medium. Sauté 5 minutes.
- Add stock, mustard, heat until reduced and thickened.
- Keep warm until needed.
Note: To clean butternut squash first peel it, using a potato/vegetable peeler. If it's large (typically) cut it in half between the 'neck' and 'bowl' ends. Then cut those in half the 'long' way. Scoop the seeds out of the round end and discard. I use the neck end for uniform pieces and the bowl end for soups and smaller pieces.
Braised Lamb with Red Peppers
Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
The red peppers and orange carrots combine for a very vibrant dish - both in color and flavor. You could substitute pork.
Ingredients:
- 12oz (360gr) boneless lamb, shoulder or leg meat
- 1/2 red pepper
- 2 medium carrots
- 1 medium onion
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 8 garlic cloves
- 15oz (450gr) whole tomatoes, drained, no sauce
- 1 tbs olive oil
Instructions:
- Slice onion.
- Peel garlic, but leave whole.
- Cut pepper and carrots into matchsticks.
- Drain tomatoes, reserving juices for another use. Roughly chop tomatoes.
- Cut lamb into large pieces and trim excess fat.
- Heat oil in a heavy pot or Dutch oven with tight-fitting lid. Add onion, sauté until browned and starting to get crisp, remove.
- Add lamb and brown on all sides.
- Return the onions to the pot, add spices, pepper, carrots, garlic, wine and tomatoes.
- Cover, turn heat to low and braise for 60 minutes.
- When done, spoon meat and vegetables onto a platter and serve.
Roasted Potatoes
Total time: 35 minutes
Lovely golden brown and crisp, these potatoes are great with any meats any time. They are easy to make and the herbes can be varied according to the rest of the meal. In summer we do them on the barbecue grill in an old metal pie plate for the same amount of time..
Ingredients:
- 2 medium potatoes
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 tsp herbes de Provence
- salt and pepper
Instructions:
- Slice potatoes in half the long way, then in half again. Then slice in half or thirds the short way.
- Put remaining ingredients into large bowl and mix well.
- Add potatoes and toss, coating thoroughly. Arrange potatoes on baking sheet with rim (I use my trusty, round pizza pan) Bake at 400F for 30 minutes.
- You can turn once if you like to fuss but I usually don't bother.
- Remove from oven and serve. These will stay hot for awhile so a 5 or 10 minute delay is okay.
Cooking Schedule: 75 minutes for menu |
Whisk egg |
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