Originally, this recipe was for a pumpkin gratin that we got from a small book by Jacques Pépin, Poulets & Legumes. Not only does it contain recipes, it’s illustrated with artwork by the chef himself. The shape and size of the book might fool you into thinking it’s for children, but it’s not. It is, indeed, a cookbook.
We were fascinated by this recipe, which called for pumpkin, because Chef Pépin remarked that this was pretty much the only way he ate pumpkin growing up in France; his first experience with pumpkin pie in the United States shocked him enough to think that it had to be a mistake. After all, it’s sweetened with sugar and more dessert-like than savory. Well, we had to try the more savory version, and we thought that Christmas dinner would be the perfect time to do so.
While we did have pumpkin in the freezer, we had a fresh butternut squash that we needed to use, so we simply substituted. You can do the same, or you can use the original recipe that uses pumpkin. Your choice.
Butternut Gratin
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash or 2 cups (1 can) pumpkin
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3/4 cup grated Swiss cheese (3 ounces)
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp butter
- 1 Tbs grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Slice squash in half and remove seeds. Place cut side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until tender. Let cool.
- Scrape flesh from squash and transfer to a food processor along with eggs, cream, Swiss cheese, salt, and pepper. Process until smooth.
- Butter a 6-cup gratin pan or baking dish and fill with mixture. Top with grated Parmesan.
- Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until top is nicely browned and gratin is set.
Ingredient discussion:
It should be obvious that, if you use canned pumpkin, there’s no need to roast it before making the gratin filling. We prefer using eggs from truly pasture-raised hens. You can’t tell from the labels on the eggs at the store, so see if you can get eggs from the farmers’ market. We didn’t use heavy cream; we used half-and-half, simply because we had it in the house and our gratin was fine. For the cheese, we went with a French Swiss-style cheese, Madrigal; again, because that’s what we had available. For the Parmesan, use the real deal, which is expensive, but, oh, so worth it.
Procedure in detail:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Bake squash. If you’re using canned pumpkin, you can move right on to to the next step. Otherwise, line a baking sheet with parchment for easy cleanup. Or, don’t line it, if you like cleaning pans. Cut the squash in half and scrape out all the seeds. Place cut side down on the prepared pan, and bake until soft, about 45-60 minutes. Let the squash cool enough to handle, but don’t turn off the oven.
Process. Scrape the squash flesh into the bowl of a food processor, add the eggs, cream, Swiss cheese, salt, and pepper, and process until smooth. With fresh squash, it’ll be surprisingly liquid, but don’t worry, it’s fine.
Bake. Butter a 6-cup gratin dish or other smallish baking dish and pour the mixture into it. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bake for 45 to 60 minutes, or until the gratin is set and the top is nicely browned.
We’re so glad we tried this dish. It’s super easy and it’s super good. We both thought that it was one of the better ways to have butternut squash (probably pumpkin, too); we think we might even forego using pumpkin for pies. Just kidding! As does Jacques Pépin, we now like both pumpkin pie and this butternut (or pumpkin) gratin. Easy five stars.
