On our first night in London, we had just arrived by car from the Portsmouth seaside and were beyond tired (Reversing all the traffic rules you’ve ever known while driving somewhere you’ve never been will do that.). Unfortunately, we were also very hungry, so we dropped our bags at the hotel and wandered down the street to the first pub we could find. It was called The Prince Edward Public House and Kitchen, and at first glance, it looked like a typical pub — dark wood, a bar brimming with beer options, bowls of pistachios and lots of TV screens showing lots of “football.”
Then we ordered dinner, and, suddenly, the word typical no longer applied. I ordered the butternut squash, which arrived tender, wrinkly and stuffed with arugula, roasted cherry tomatoes and goat cheese. On the side was an asparagus-mushroom pilaf. Instead of slicing the squash lengthwise as we often do over here, this one was sliced off at the neck, leaving the bottom, bowl-like third an edible serving vessel. And the flavor the chef was able to get into all that orange-y flesh was astounding. Hopefully I’ve done it justice!
Roasted Butternut Squash with Cherry Tomatoes and Goat Cheese
2 servings
2 small butternut squashes
1 pint cherry tomatoes
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 pinches salt
2 pinches freshly ground black pepper
2 pinches freshly grated nutmeg
Olive oil
2 oz. goat cheese
1 handful arugula
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Cut the neck off each squash, leaving just the bowl-shaped bottom. Scrape out the seeds with a spoon.
• Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, spray with nonstick spray and place the squash bowls on it. Place 1 tablespoon of butter in each squash, then season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Brush the rim of each bowl with olive oil.
• Put the squashes in the oven and let them roast until the sides start to wrinkle and the insides are very tender, about 25 to 35 minutes, depending on the sizes of the squashes.
• Meanwhile, in a bowl, coat the cherry tomatoes with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on a rimmed, foil-lined baking sheet and then place in the oven 10 minutes before the squashes are finished.
• Once the squashes and cherry tomatoes are properly roasted, remove from oven, but keep oven on. Set tomatoes aside. Pour out all but a teaspoon of butter from each squash bowl, and then place 3 to 4 quarter-size pieces of goat cheese (about 1 ounce) in each one. Return them to the oven and roast another 3 to 4 minutes, until the cheese softens.
• Remove from oven and place 3 to 4 cherry tomatoes in each bowl, followed by a few arugula leaves, then the rest of the cherry tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve with salad or rice pilaf.
This article appears in May 2013.