Butternut Squash and Poblano Gratin
Serves 8
Ingredients
4 poblano chiles
2 butternut squash, about 1 ¼ pounds each
3 cloves garlic
1/3 cup chopped fresh flat leaf Italian parsley
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
5 ounces Montasio cheese, coarsely grated
¼ cup Grana Padano
1/2 cup coarse fresh breadcrumbs
Instructions
Place the chiles on an outdoor grill or directly on your gas jets, turning constantly, until the skin is black and blistered. About 10 minutes. Place in a plastic bag and let steam for 10 minutes. Peel the chiles with your fingers removing as much of the black skin as possible. Discard the skin, seeds and membrane. Cut the chiles into ½-inch slices.
Peel the squash and cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds with a large spoon. Cut the squash across into 1/4" slices. Cook the squash in boiling salted water until almost tender but still crunchy, 5 to 7 minutes. To make persillade, chop the garlic and parsley together until very fine.
Preheat an oven to 400F. Rub a 13-inch X 9-inch gratin dish (we used a 13-inch oval Le Creuset gratin dish on the show) with 1 tablespoon of the butter.
To assemble the gratin, place one row of squash at the short end of the dish. Top with a few of the chiles. Sprinkle with some of the persillade, pepper. Place another row of squash on top of the chiles and persillade, overlapping slightly. Continue to layer until you have used all of the squash, chiles and persillade until you fill the gratin dish. Combine the heavy cream, milk and 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt in a small saucepan and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes. Pour the mixture over the top of the squash and chiles. In a bowl, toss together the Montasio cheese, Grana Padano and breadcrumbs. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the top. With the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, dot the top of the gratin.
Bake until the cream is bubbling around the edges and half of the cream has been absorbed, about 45 to 60 minutes.
