Can I just tell you how much I adore this Butternut Squash Gratin with Lemon Orzo and Asparagus? I drew inspiration from a photo of a traditional recipe called Salmon Oscar. It was a menu item featured at a popular upscale chain restaurant. While theirs obviously wasn’t vegan, you know how much I love the challenge of transforming a dish. No fish in this recipe. Instead, I substituted a vegan-friendly alternative … “filet” of butternut squash 🙂
Butternut squash. Hmmm… It all sounded good in my head, but I wasn’t sure how it would translate in the final product. I used the same panko/(vegan) parmesan/(vegan) margarine gratin concept for the topping and lightened up the sauce for the orzo. Theirs was a white wine cream sauce. Mine is a lemon and vegan margarine sauce with fresh parsley. Serve with a few lemon wedges and garnish with a sprig of parsley. It was awesome!
So let’s get started, shall we? I sorted through a bin of squash to find one with a long neck and smaller bulb (for lack of a better term, if that makes sense). While I did scoop the seeds and roast that end as well, they won’t be used in this particular recipe.
The first thing we need to do is peel the butternut squash. If you have trouble peeling large squash like this one, I have to share with you one of my all time favorite kitchen gadgets. This peeler works so easily and peels vegetables so thin, I can’t even give it enough praise to do it justice. There is very little waste when using this peeler. Not sponsored by, nor do I have any relationship with this company…it’s just THAT good! Here’s a link to it on Amazon.com.
I cut off the bulbous end and sliced the remainder vertically (as shown below). Lightly oil, generously season with salt and pepper and bake cut side down at 400 degrees until fork tender. About 35-40 minutes.
Once the squash has nearly finished cooking, we’ll combine panko bread crumbs, vegan margarine, vegan parmesan (you could also use nutritional yeast) and parsley.
Flip the squash over so the rounded side is now facing down. The panko mixture should be moist, but not wet. This will help it stick to the squash. Press lightly to adhere. Bake for another 10-15 minutes until it forms a nice, golden crust.
While the squash finishes cooking in the oven, I prepared orzo and mixed it with vegan margarine and fresh parsley. Season with salt and pepper and add a squeeze of lemon juice.
I also steamed asparagus spears, which I then cut into 1″ pieces.
And there you have it!
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Butternut Squash Gratin with Lemon Orzo {Vegan}
Ingredients
- FOR THE SQUASH:
- 1 Butternut Squash (pick out one with a longer neck and smaller bulb end)
- 1 tsp Oil
- Salt & Pepper to season
- FOR THE PASTA:
- 1 bunch of Asparagus Spears steamed and cut into 1" pieces
- 1 C Cooked Orzo
- 1 Tbl Fresh Parsley
- 1 Tbl Vegan Margarine such as Earth Balance
- Lemon Juice to taste
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- FOR THE TOPPING:
- 1/2 C Panko Bread Crumbs
- 3 Tbl Vegan Parmesan we used GO Veggie! Parmesan Grated Topping or nutritional yeast
- 1 Tbl Vegan Margarine we used Earth Balance Buttery Sticks
- 1 Tbl Fresh Parsley chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Cut off both ends of a butternut squash. Peel the entire thing. Cut where the neck and bulbous end meet. Slice the longer end vertically. You can scoop the seeds and roast the bulb end, but we aren't using it in this recipe.
- Lightly brush each with oil and generously season with salt and pepper.
- Place CUT SIDE DOWN on a lined sheet pan and bake for 35-40 minutes. A knife should insert easily.
- In a small bowl, combine melted vegan margarine with panko bread crumbs, vegan parmesan and chopped fresh parsley.
- Flip the squash over (so the cut side is now facing up) and lightly press the topping onto each squash filet.
- Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until a golden crust forms.
- Meanwhile, steam the asparagus and cook the orzo to the package instructions.
- Combine the orzo with vegan margarine, lemon juice, salt, pepper and fresh parsley, to taste. Cut the asparagus and add to the orzo.
- Place the squash over the orzo mixture.
- Serve with lemon wedges and garnish with fresh parsley.
Christina @ The Beautiful Balance says
Gorgeous photos and amazing recipe. Love the idea of butternut squash “filets” especially paired with citrusy orzo! Pinning this now 🙂
Leslie @ flora foodie says
Oh man, this looks delicious! I love the idea of squash with a mound of panko on top! (Plus margarine-y panko seems to be the key to making my boyfriend eat any vegetable, I’m sure it will work with squash too! 😀 ) Can’t wait to give it a try!