I, like so many others that I know, consider fall to be my favorite season. I love the cool-but-still-nice-enough-to-be-outside weather, the jeans and sweatshirt uniform, the crisp air and crunchy leaves, the holidays that fall within it and the food that embodies it. So typically on September 1st I morph into the most basic version of myself, bust out the fall wreath, butternut squash recipes and sweaters and proceed to feel......hot. Usually until October. Because the thing is, fall doesn't actually start until the end of September.
I feel like a big part of our modern society is the complete inability to be mindful. In case you're not familiar with the term, the definition of mindfulness is "a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment." Between FOMO-inducing social media and retailers that start advertising boots and Halloween candy and all of the pumpkin things in August, we are all constantly in a mental state that is a few steps ahead of reality. So in an effort to be more mindful this year, on September 1st I kept my floral wreath on the door, continued eating cherry tomatoes, corn and peaches and left my sweaters and boots safely in their giant tub in the basement. It was nice and I really enjoyed those last few, extra hot weeks of summer.
But this past Saturday was September 22nd, the first official day of fall, and it felt like fall. It was overcast, the temperatures barely reached seventy and my feet, covered only in my handy J.Crew nude flats, were freezing. I switched out my wreath, put on a cardigan and pulled out the first butternut squash of the season (from my aunts farm!) to make this recipe, from Nigella Lawson's Simply Nigella: Feel Good Food.
Butternut Squash Burgers with Halloumi
Ingredients:
-1 butternut squash
-1 tbsp olive oil
-1 tsp dried oregano
-salt and pepper
-whole wheat pita bread
-8 oz. halloumi cheese*
-1 tomato*
-baby arugula*
Method:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Meanwhile, peel your your squash. Cut off the body (you won't be using it)* and set aside. Then, cut the neck into even, roughly half-inch slices. The number of slices you get will depend on your squash, but I typically get eight from a grocery store squash. Add the tablespoon of olive oil to a baking sheet and brush into an even coat. Lay your squash slices on the oiled surface, sprinkle with half of the dried oregano, then flip them, and sprinkle with the remaining oregano and some salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes until the squash slices are soft and browning. Slice your halloumi thinly (you'll need one slice per squash round), lay one slice on each squash round, and roast again for ten minutes. Remove from the oven and stuff one or two rounds into a split pita, along with thinly sliced tomato and arugula.
*Notes:
-I would just core/cube the squash body and freeze or roast separately to avoid waste.
-If you're unfamiliar with halloumi cheese just be aware that it doesn't get very melty because of its high melting point. It will soften and that's all you need. Also: halloumi is definitely more prevalent these days (my store carries the Kryssos brand) but there is always the chance that you won't be able to find it. If this is the case, choose another cheese. If your store carries Bread Cheese this would be a good substitute (it's so good; I may have to devote an entire blog post to it); however, I have also used fontina or gruyere, which will be more melty.
-Tomato and arugula are totally optional.
These are a bit non-traditional for a butternut squash recipe but they're so good. They would be perfect for a "Meatless Monday" recipe (if you're into that) but I like to roast them Sunday night and then re-heat them daily for lunch with grapes or apple slices.
(top photo of butternut squash via Martha Stewart.com)
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