Quinoa and Squash Gratin

How bummed out are you about this whole New York Times paywall thing? Personally, I read a lot more than 20 articles on the Times website a month, especially in their Dining & Wine section. Every recipe I've tried from them has been pretty stellar. Fortunately, it seems that if you click on a link to an article from social media or a search engine, it doesn't count toward your 20-articles-per-month allotment -- so all you really have to do is follow @nytimesdining on Twitter, since they post the link to every article and recipe. But that takes all the fun out of browsing! Browsing is what first led me to this awesome quinoa and squash gratin recipe from last fall. It's fairly simple to put together, is a real crowd pleaser, and holds up very well as lunch leftovers the next day. Grabbing the recipe was definitely worth using up one of my 20 articles.

Quinoa and Squash Gratin
From the New York Times

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• Salt to taste
• 2 to 3 garlic cloves (to taste), minced
• 1 1/2 pounds summer squash, diced (I used 2 zucchini and 1 yellow squash)
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1/2 cup grated Gruyère cheese (2 ounces)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Oil a two-quart baking dish or gratin. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet, and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, about five minutes. Add a generous pinch of salt and the garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Add the summer squash, thyme and rosemary. Cook, stirring often, until the squash is tender but not mushy, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and remove from the heat.

Beat the eggs in a large bowl, and stir in the squash mixture, the cooked quinoa and the cheese. Mix well and season, then scrape into the baking dish. Place in the oven, and bake 35 minutes or until it’s set and the top is lightly browned. Serve hot, warm or room temperature.

Caribbean Sweet Potato Gratin

This is the first recipe I tried out of another Christmas-gift cookbook, Moosewood Restaurant New Classics. I've been a Moosewood devotee for some years now, and I love their simple but delicious takes on everyday cooking in Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home, which I've used for quite a while. (See, e.g., this chickpea and tofu curry.)

This new installment is less focused on quick-and-easy recipes (though there are still many of those), but rather more on fresh, healthy, delicious vegetarian recipes that you'll want to make over and over again. This recipe is a pretty good example of just that. It's a lovely gratin which layers thin sweet potato slices, black beans, rice, and spinach to bake in a lime-coconut milk broth with a crunchy cornmeal topping. I was a big fan of this dish. Have a simple green salad with some sliced avocado alongside to make this a perfect meal.

It falls apart on the plate a bit, but the taste makes up for the slightly sloppy appearance...

Caribbean Sweet Potato Gratin
From Moosewood Restaurant New Classics

• 1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated lime peel
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 1/2 cups coconut milk (about 1 1/2 cans; freeze any leftovers for later use) (I used light coconut milk)
• 4 cups peeled and thinly sliced sweet potatoes (use a mandoline if you have one)
• 1 cup cooked rice
• 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans (one can, rinsed and drained)
• 1 1/2 cups fresh spinach, rinsed, stemmed, and chopped

For topping:

• 3/4 cup cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly oil a 9x13 inch baking pan.

Combine the garlic, lime peel and juice, cilantro, thyme, salt, pepper, and coconut milk in a measuring cup. Pour one third of this mixture into the baking pan. Layer half of the sweet potatoes in the bottom, topped by half of the rice, half of the black beans, and half the spinach. Pour on another third of the coconut milk mixture and repeat the layers of sweet potatoes, rice, beans, and spinach. Pour the remaining coconut milk over all. In a small bowl combine all of the topping ingredients and sprinkle over the gratin.

Bake, uncovered, for about 60 minutes, rotating the pan in the oven after 30 minutes to ensure uniform baking. When the potatoes are tender and the topping is crisp and golden brown, remove from the oven and let sit for 2 to 3 minutes so the potatoes can absorb some extra liquid.

Serves 6.