Butternut Squash, Spinach and Leek Gratin

I’ve been craving creamy dishes lately. I suppose that is comfort food for me. Something warm and soothing to eat on these cold winter days. In thinking about how to meet these comfort needs sustainably, I first try to plan a vegetarian meal, then try to use as many locally sourced ingredients as possible. Not much is growing locally right now, here in New England where I live. You might be able to get butternut squash grown locally that has been stored since the fall. You might be able to get dairy products such as cream and butter from local sources. But if you can’t, just eliminating meat from your meal is a step in the right direction. Animal agriculture generates proportionally more greenhouse gas emissions than plant agriculture, so by eating more plants we eat more sustainably. Also, raising animals for food uses a greater amount of land than fruit, vegetable and grain farming do. This makes plant agriculture better for the planet than animal agriculture.

I ate this with another vegetable side dish (leftover from the night before) and brown rice for dinner last night. Whole grains fill you up more than refined grains do, so my hunger was satisfied accordingly. My husband ate this gratin as a side dish with brown rice and a small piece of chicken. Whatever you choose to serve it with, it is delicious! We finished it off for lunch today!

Butternut Squash, Spinach and Leek Gratin

Course: Uncategorized

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

50

minutes

Total time

1

hour 

20

minutes

Ingredients

• 2 TBS butter

• 1 leek, trimmed of dark green parts, halved lengthwise, rinsed well, and sliced thin

• 1 garlic clove, pressed

• small butternut squash bulb, halved and sliced thin

• 10 oz package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed

• 1 cup grated gruyere cheese

• 1 cup heavy cream

• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Grease gratin dish (I spray with nonstick cooking spray, but you could also rub butter in it). Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Melt 2 TBS butter in medium size frying pan over low heat. Sauté leeks, stirring occassionally, until tender. Add pressed garlic and sauté for another minute, stirring. Turn off flame.
• Arrange half of butternut squash slices in bottom of gratin dish.
• Squeeze water out of chopped spinach and stir into leeks and garlic. Add 1/2 cup heavy cream and salt and pepper to taste. Spread over butternut squash in gratin dish.
• Add remaining butternut squash slices on top of spinach mixture.
• Drizzle remaining 1/2 cup heavy cream over all. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Distribute grated gruyere cheese over all. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for approximately 20 additional minutes, until squash is tender and top is bubbly and golden brown.