Roasted Squash "Carbonara" Recipe

Daniel Gritzer
Roasted Squash \
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  • Yield:Serves 4 to 6 as a side dish
  • Active time:30 minutes
  • Total time:1 hour

A pasta-inspired vegetable dish. [Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

This sweet roasted squash side dish is topped with all the components of a classic carbonara—egg, crispy pork, grated cheeses, and black pepper—but presented very differently from the famed Roman sauce.

Why It Works

An Italian classic, totally reimagined. Read the Whole Story
  • Adding more olive oil to the pork after cooking introduces a fresh olive oil flavor.
  • Vinegar offsets the pork's richness, while turning its fat into a warm vinaigrette.

Ingredients

  • 3 1/2 pounds (1.75kg) red-skinned and/or green-skinned kabocha squash, trimmed, seeded, and sliced 3/4 inch thick
  • 6 tablespoons (90mL) extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 ounces (110g) diced pancetta, guanciale, or bacon
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme (optional)
  • 2 teaspoons (10mL) red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon (15mL) each minced fresh flat-leaf parsley and chives
  • Yolks from 2 hard-boiled eggs, finely crumbled, whites reserved for another use (like snacking)
  • Grated Pecorino Romano and/or Parmigiano-Reggiano, for garnish

Directions

  1. 1.

    Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). In a large bowl, toss sliced squash with 2 tablespoons (30mL) olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange in even layers on 2 rimmed baking sheets and roast until browned and tender, about 45 minutes. Let cool slightly.

  2. 2.

    Meanwhile, in a skillet, combine pork with 1 tablespoon (15mL) olive oil and thyme, if using, and cook over medium heat, stirring, until pork is crisp and fat has rendered, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat and discard thyme. Stir in red wine vinegar, remaining 3 tablespoons (45mL) olive oil, and parsley and chives. Keep vinaigrette warm.

  3. 3.

    Using a thin metal spatula, lift squash from baking sheets. Arrange on a serving platter. Spoon warm vinaigrette on top. Garnish with crumbled egg yolks and grated cheese and grate more fresh black pepper on top. Serve.

Daniel Gritzer
Culinary Director

Daniel cooked for years in some of New York's top American, Italian and French restaurants - starting at the age of 13, when he began staging at the legendary restaurant Chanterelle. He spent nearly a year working on organic farms in Europe, where he harvested almonds and Padron peppers in Spain, shepherded a flock of more than 200 sheep in Italy, and made charcuterie in France. When not working on, thinking about, cooking and eating food, he blows off steam (and calories) as an instructor of capoeira, the Afro-Brazilian martial art.

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