Grilled butternut squash with wild mushroom ragout and smoked cheddar cheese gratin

Ingredients

Yield:

12 pieces

• • 1 Butternut squash, should give 10-12 slices
  • 300 g Smoked Cheddar cheese (or your favorite local cheese)

• Ragout

  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 shallot, diced
  • 300 g mixed wild mushrooms, chopped
  • 150 g button mushrooms, chopped
  • 42 ml whiskey (maple whiskey if possible)
  • 100 ml white wine
  • 150 ml veal stock
  • 150 ml 35% cooking cream
  • 1 sprigs chopped rosemary
  • Salt, black peppercorns

Preparation

Difficulty:

Easy

 

Total Time:

1.5 Hours

1. Squash

   1. Choose a butternut squash with a long neck. Slice the neck in 1 cm round slices leaving the skin on.
   2. Turn your bbq on high, when it’s hot, brush the squash with olive oil and grill for about 5 minutes, twisting them 45° after 5 minutes to avoid burning(the markings aren’t important because they won’t be seen).
   3. Turn down the bbq, turn them over, and let them cook for another 10 minutes. When they are done cooking, take them off the bbq and place on a baking sheet (leave your bbq on to use as an oven for the final step, or turn it off and turn on your oven).
   4. With a round cutter or a paring knife will work as well, cut to remove the skin.
   5. Slice the cheese, 3-4 mm thick,( 25gm.) cut just a little smaller than the squash.

2. Ragout

   1. In a frying pan heat a splash of olive, add the shallots and garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes on medium heat, add the mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook until tender, 3-4 minutes, add the whiskey and flambé, than add the white wine and reduce.
   2. Add the veal stock and rosemary and reduce until the mushrooms are coated with the thick reduction, add the cream and again reduce until the mixture is thick.
   3. Stir often as the mixture thickens to make sure it doesn’t burn. Adjust the seasoning with salt and fresh ground black pepper.
   4. (All the above steps can be done the day before)
   5. With all the ingredients at room temperature, brush the squash with maple syrup, place some mushroom ragout on each squash, place the cheese and heat in the oven, as the cheese starts to melt, change to broil to darken the cheese.