The recipe chosen this week for the Food Matters Project was Bittman's Vegetables au Vin with Coq chosen by Evi + Sam. Bittman is an advocate of reducing meat consumption so most of his recipes feature vegetables and use meat sparingly, if at all. This recipe, for example, used a ton of vegetables and only a small amount of chicken, thus turning Coq au Vin (chicken with wine) into Vegetables au Vin with Coq.
Being vegetarian, we had to change this recipe to take out the chicken but keep the dish hearty and flavorful. We still wanted to braise something (traditionally the chicken is braised) so turned to a hearty vegetable that could stand up to the braising process - butternut squash. We also thought that a heavy red wine would overpower the other flavors of the dish so decided to use white wine instead (hence Vin Blanc).
Bittman suggests serving this dish with bread or potatoes, but we decided to make it a bit healthier and served it over some creamy polenta - which soaked up the sauce perfectly.
Overall we were happy with the dish, but didn't think that the flavor of the squash worked perfectly with the other ingredients (though it did braise very well). It was a bit too sweet and in the future would like to try some other hearty vegetables, any suggestions?
To find Bittman's original recipe, check out Evi + Sam's blog Fifth Floor Kitchen and continue reading below to find our version of the dish.
Vegetables au Vin Blanc
Adapted from The Food Matters Cookbook.
1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch rounds
3 tbs olive oil
1 onion, roughly chopped
1/2 lb mushrooms, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup white wine
2 cups vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried sage (or to taste)
1 tsp dried rosemary (or to taste)
1 tbs butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat 2 tbs oil over medium-high heat in dutch oven. Brown butternut squash, about 3-4 minutes per side, until caramelized. Remove and set aside, working in batches.
Add remaining oil to pan and saute onions and mushrooms until they caramelize, 10-15 minutes. Add garlic after 5 minutes of cooking. Add wine and deglaze bottom of pan. Then add stock, bay leaves, sage, and rosemary.
Add butternut squash back to pot and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and summer until butternut squash is soft, about 15 minutes (dish can be refrigerated at this point).
Remove butternut squash from pan, turn up heat, and let liquid boil until it reduces by about half. Stir in butter and season with salt and pepper. Return squash to pot to warm through and remove bay leaves.
Serve over creamy polenta (4 cups boiling water/stock, 1 cup polenta whisked in, cooked 10-15 minutes until thickened). Serves 4.
