I branched out in my French cooking experience on this one and used a recipe I found from Chef Jacques Pepin. It didn't have a French name listed, and I didn't try very hard to find one afterwards, but it doesn't matter -- Butternut Squash Gratin is fantastic!!
I don't know about you, but I've always loved butternut squash. I usually have it baked with a little butter mushed into it after it is baked. This recipe took the squash to an entirely different level. Trust me, you gotta try this one!
The first step was peeling the squash. I peeled it with a regular potato peeler but you need too essentially peel it twice because of the thickness of the skin. Chef Pepin pointed it out in his recipe, and I've tried to show it in the photos below, but when you make the first pass with the peeler you'll find another thin layer below the first one that comes off. Under the hard outer "shell" of skin, there's a softer white layer and then some greenish strands below that. As you peel, make sure you get all the way down to where the flesh is a consistent golden color everywhere.
After peeling, the squashes were cut in half so the seeds could be scooped out with a spoon and then they were ready to be sliced into slices about 1/8" thick. Chef Pepin suggested using a food processor but I decided to use the "old school" mandolin slicer that I got last year. I've only used that thing for grating so far -- I am now a fan of using it for slicing! It actually took less total time than the food processor would have. The mandolin was quick to set up, quick to use, and really quick to clean up. It is also deadly dangerous! That may be a bit of an exaggeration but I've seen experienced chefs with bleeding fingertip or knuckles when rushing through a food contest on the Food Network. As I gingerly sliced the first chunk of squash I was surprised how quickly the slices came off and the fingertips approached the razor sharp blade. Hmmmmm, that must be why the thing came with a little handle to press down on the squash. No blood and no bandages -- I did alright!
All the slices then went into a small pot of boiling water for just about a minute and a half to soften them up a bit. When you make this, be careful not to overcook -- remember the slices are thin and will cook very quickly. The slices went into a colander and then I rinsed them with cold water to cool them off and stop the cooking process. It also cooled them off enough to make it easier to handle them.
The final preparation was much easier than expected. Unlike when I've made gratin potatoes and had to carefully layer the slices, the squash slices were just dumped in the pan, sprinkled with 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper and a teaspoon of salt and then covered with 1/2 cup of cream. These were gently mixed with a fork (Julia specified a wooden soon on her previous recipe, he specified a fork -- why so particular?) until everything was equally coated. I evened everything out into an even layer and then sprinkled the top with 1/2 cup of freshly grated Swiss cheese.
The oven had been preheated to 400 degrees and was happy to receive this beautiful dish. Chef Pepin said to bake for 30-40 minutes "until nicely browned." I actually went to about 40 minutes and still wasn't getting any browning. I suppose I could have used a higher shelf in the oven or even used the broiler for a few seconds, but it smelled tooooooo good and we were hungry.
As I said in the title, words cannot adequately describe how tasty this was. I really didn't know what to expect but I gotta tell you, this is definitely my favorite way to have this squash and certainly one of my favorite dishes overall. I say it a lot, but you realllllllllly should try this one!
Bon Appetit!
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