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Ingredients
| 2 Tbs. |
olive oil |
| 2 large |
butternut squash halved and scraped clean |
| 2 large |
broccoli heads cut into bite-sized pieces |
| 1 medium |
carrot scrubbed split into quarters and chopped |
| 1 cup |
red quinoa cooked soft (yields 2 cups cooked) |
| 1/4 cup |
black sesame seeds (optional) |
| 1/4 cup |
olive oil |
| 1 large |
yellow onion chopped |
| 3 cloves |
garlic chopped |
| 10 medium |
shitake mushrooms chopped |
| 1 Tbs. |
fresh rosemary minced (mince then measure) |
| 1 tsp. |
fresh tarragon minced (mince then measure) |
| 1 tsp. |
sea salt |
| 1/2 cup |
raw cashew pieces |
| 3 Tbs. |
tamari |
| 1 cup |
filtered water |
| 1 small |
yellow bell pepper chopped small (for garnish) |
| 8 sprigs |
fresh rosemary (for garnish) |
loving preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Shave off a slice of skin from the bottom of each squash half so it sits flat and steady.
Brush squash halves with olive oil and place in glass baking dishes
Put squash in the oven and set timer for 40 minutes. When the timer for the squash rungs turn oven off but leave squash in oven.
2. In a sauce pan boil 2 cups filtered water add one cup quinoa cover and turn stove to low for 10 minutes.
Remove quinoa from stove add sesame seeds to sauce pan return cover and set aside.
3. In another sauce pan boil one inch of water add broccoli flowers and carrot pieces cover and let cook 5 minutes drain off water keep uncovered set aside.
4. For the gravy: In a large skillet sautee onions in olive oil until clear.
Add garlic mushrooms herbs and salt and continue sauteeing until mushrooms darken and soften. Turn stove off and allow contents of skillet to cool. Place contents of skillet into strong blender add cashews tamari and water. Blend until smooth add small amounts of extra water as needed.
Pour into a sauce pan and reheat on low.
5. Now you get to put it all together an make food art!
In large mixing bowl combine quinoa and sesame seeds with vegetables mix gently.
Place each squash half on its own plate
fill each squash with vegetable-quinoa mixture creating a mound (use your clean hands to shape it and compress it).
Make a deep depression in the top of the mound and pour gravy into it allowing some to spill over abundantly.
Sprinkle with yellow peppers and top with 2 rosemary sprigs.
Serve with the extra gravy nearby!
serving suggestion
~ This meal stands alone easily. It is has the warm roasted flavors of a Holiday meal. Each serving is so hearty it could be shared by two. It is fun to serve each plate as a lover's meal with two sets of utensils. In that case a spinach salad with thinly sliced red onion, orange pieces, walnuts and avocado with a sesame vinaigrette would compliment it well.
~For a simpler prep and presentation simply steam your favorite vegetables prepare your favorite grain and cover it all with the Mushroom-Cashew Gravy.
This recipe was born from my determination to create the rich swoon-inducing flavors of holiday meals with out the use of animal products. A friend challenged me by saying 'But you'll never be able to create a good gravy without animal products.' I knew the flavors and textures of mushrooms had a complexity that could do the job and so the Mushroom-Cashew gravy was born. Even devout meat-eaters get weak in the knees when they taste it.
For more recipes from our worldwide contest
please check out 7 MINUTE CHEF - Volume 1
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