A home cook has adapted a well-known winter squash toast recipe from chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten's ABC Kitchen, sharing a version designed for weeknight cooking. The dish layers roasted squash and tangy onion confit on olive oil-toasted bread spread with ricotta or soft goat cheese, finished with fresh mint.
The cook describes the recipe as a seasonal, hearty meal that works before or after Halloween candy consumption, noting it falls into the category of dishes that masquerade as toasts but are substantial enough to serve as dinner. The preparation involves roasting a winter squash of choice in the oven while cooking an onion on the stove with cider vinegar and maple syrup until soft and jammy. The two components are then half-mashed together with a fork.
The cook admits to being late in discovering the recipe, which is served at ABC Kitchen, explaining that previous visits to the restaurant were spent ordering other menu items like the veggie burger, mushroom and egg pizza, or roasted carrot and avocado salad. The recipe is described as embodying what can happen when a famous chef pays serious attention to vegetables.
Adapting for Picky Eaters
The cook notes the dish appeals to those who might be skeptical of goat cheese or vegetables cooked with sweet ingredients. In their household, one family member distrusted both goat cheese and sweet vegetable preparations, while a child had to be told the squash was sweet potato to eat it. The tart onions weaving through the sweet squash are credited with making the dish crowd-pleasing and filling.
The meal was served with a kale caesar salad using a riff on a dressing and ribbons of lacinato leaves, along with Russian-pleasing pickled garlicky red peppers and sliced cucumbers. Leftovers provided lunch the following day.
The cook also references other toast recipes in their archive, including Leek Toasts with Blue Cheese, Spinach and Smashed Egg Toast, Eggplant Salad Toasts, Creamed Mushrooms on Butter-Chive Toasts, and a Scrambled Egg Toast. For those seeking candy recipes, they point to a Pinterest collection of Halloween candy recipes, highlighting Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats and Apple Cider Caramels as favorites, and noting they would never turn down a Buckeye.
Editorial Notes