This is my first savory crumble and will no doubt go down as a favorite side dish. I haven’t explored much in this territory outside of the sweet berry crumbles but I’m thinking to try more of these.

It’s absolutely delicious, I made it yesterday as a side with roast chicken and Apple + Kale Salad, it all worked so well together, Jeff said I’m getting good at this, ha ha. Me?

The biggest challenge of this recipe was cutting up a butternut squash, the whole time I was hacking away at this thing I kept envisioning that pre-cut squash at Trader Joe’s, that would have been a whole lot easier. But I appreciate eating fresh produce from the market so a little sweat is required sometimes (um, and tears, that onion was insanely strong! I kid you not) But I survived. The Butternut Squash Crumble recipe is from Beatrice Peltre in the Boston Globe, the only change I made was to add cranberries, and I highly recommend it, they work nicely with the herb flavors and add some nice color as well. Oh, and I would suggest taking it easy on the salt, the parmesan gives enough saltiness to the dish so that you really don’t need too much. And I probably don’t need to mention that this would be great for the upcoming holidays, but it really would and I just did.

Butternut Squash Crumble

(adapted from Beatrice Peltre)

Topping

1 cup flour
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped coarsely
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Pepper, to taste
6 tablespoons butter, diced and at room temperature

In a bowl combine the flour, walnuts, parsley, Parmesan, and a generous sprinkle of pepper.

Add the butter and work with your fingertips (or fork if butter is chilled) until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Cover and refrigerate.

Squash

Butter (for the dish)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 red onion, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup canned tomatoes
1 peeled butternut squash, cut into 1-inch dice
1/2 cup fresh cranberries
5 fresh sage leaves, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the butter until melted, cook the onion, coriander, and bay leaf, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes or until onions are softened.

Add the tomatoes and cook for 3 more minutes. Add the butternut squash, cranberries, sage, salt, and pepper. Turn down the heat. Cover and cook for 25-30 minutes or until the vegetables soften.

Preheat oven to 350° and butter a 10-inch baking dish.

Discard the bay leaf from the squash mixture. Sprinkle with parsley and Parmesan; stir gently. Transfer the vegetables to the baking dish. Spoon the crumble mixture on top.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the top is golden.