Although pumpkin gets most of the attention at this time of year, we cannot forget about the butternut squash. Sure, maybe it’s not as flashy as the pumpkin. And you can’t really make jack-o-lanterns with them (well, maybe you could, but your kids would hate you). But butternut squash is a little bit easier to deal with when it comes to cooking. I’m obsessed with butternut squash fries and butternut squash soup? Amazing!
When my family came to visit us a few weeks ago, we spent a day in Chapel Hill and my husband and I both got butternut squash panini at a little sandwich shop there. Now, normally as a vegetarian, when you go to such places you have two options: grilled cheese or grilled portabello. Maybe if you’re lucky, there will be some kind of tomato mozzarella sandwich. Maybe! So imagine our delight to find a butternut squash sandwich on the menu. It was so simple and perfect, I knew I had to try to recreate it at home. Now if I can just figure out how to make the harissa ketchup they serve with their fries, we’ll be all set.
Roasted butternut squash makes a delicious (and different!) filling for panini.
Ingredients
- 1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch slices
- 1 tbsp. olive oil + additional olive oil to brush on bread
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/3 c. fresh sage, sliced into thin ribbons
- 1-7 oz. container fresh mozzarella medallions
- 8 thick slices hearty whole-wheat or sourdough bread (it needs to be sturdy--this is important!)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Brush butternut squash slices with olive oil and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Bake 40-45 minutes or until golden brown, turning halfway through.
- Preheat panini press to medium-high heat.
- Brush one side of each slice of bread with olive oil. Divide squash, mozzarella, and sage evenly onto the non-oiled sides of 4 bread slices. Top with remaining slices of bread and grill until golden brown, about 8 minutes.
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That looks just delicious!
Wow – I never would have though of making a sandwich out of squash. You are one creative girl Kiersten!
Oh my! I loooove butternut squash and am so totally making this! We have almost everything so I can make it tonight! I just have to run out and get some mozzarella medallions and I’m set!
I’m making it again tonight too! Mostly because we still have tons of sage and I’m too busy to find another recipe, ha. But they are really good. I hope you like them!
I love paninis, and I wouldn’t have ever thought of using squash, either. But this sounds delicious!
They are so good! I know it sounds a little bit weird, but it works.
Yummy! I want to get a panini maker. It is one of the kitchen appliances that I don’t own that I could really use.
I have a Griddler–I love it because it’s more than just a panini maker. You can use it as a griddle, as a grill, and as a panini press. I always find myself pining for the specialty stuff (like the mini-donut makers!), but when I get them, I never use them!
I’m a bit obsessed with butternut squash. I would have never thought to put it inside of a panini. That’s awesome! I want to thank you for stopping by and leaving such an encouraging comment. I really appreciate it. Have a wonderful Wednesday!
Well, to be fair, I wouldn’t have thought of it either had we not gone to that restaurant in Chapel Hill.
I had to comment on your post because I feel the exact same way. I just started a new blog and I felt like it was time for me to finally focus on blogging–I’ve been working 2 part-time jobs (such is the life of someone with a master’s degree in library & information science) and I cut my hours on the one I hated to make time for the new blog. I was so excited about it! And then two days later I got an offer to do freelance taxonomy for a company I’ve worked with in the past and with the holidays coming up, I felt like I couldn’t say no to the money. It’s funny that you mentioned having the wind taken out of your sails in your post because that’s the exact phrase I used when describing how I felt to my husband. So now I’m in a frantic state again trying to balance everything, trying to find time for what I love in between the time I spend on two jobs I feel ambivalent about.
What a great idea! It wouldn’t have even occurred to me to make a sandwich of butternut squash.
Holy cow, how delicious does that look! I love squash! Sadly I just discovered it a year ago
Not a Polish veggie I was raised with!
Well, I grew up in the US and I just discovered butternut squash too! It wasn’t something my mom ever made–I think I tried it for the first time about 4 years ago. I don’t know what prompted me to buy it, but it’s one of my favorite veggies now.
So simple but so yummy sounding! I definitely want to make this one!
Thanks for this! I was hoping you’d post a recipe!! BTW, can I say how much I love it that you’re a veg too – you always have good ideas for me. Keep em coming!
Aw, thank you! After being a vegetarian for 18 years now, I’ve gotten bored of a lot of the standard vegetarian fare (veggie lasagna, meatless chili–I’m sure you know what I mean!), so I try to post things that are different. Sometimes I feel like people visit my blog and think all my recipes are so weird, but when I get positive responses from other vegetarians I know I’m on the right track!
It looks beautiful, though I’m not yet sure about it. I’ve never tried butternut with mozzarella…I may have to test it. And I didn’t know you could make fries with it. I’ll be doing that. We have a ton of butternut squash right now.
Well, mozzarella is a pretty mild cheese (especially the fresh stuff), so it goes well. I think parmesan would be really good too because I’ve made some pasta dishes with roasted butternut squash & parm and they are always so yummy, so you could sub that in instead if you’re skeptical.
And butternut squash fries are SO GOOD! You roast them in the oven & you can play up the sweetness by adding nutmeg and/or cinnamon or do more savory fries by adding cumin or chili powder.
I wish I had the “too much butternut squash” problem.
Oh, mah, gawd. This looks fantastic! I actually prefer butternut squash over pumpkin (generally). I wonder how it would taste with tarragon or chervil? Those are two of my new favorite spices.
I like pumpkin soup and obviously pumpkin baked goods, but I’m not really into roasted pumpkin so much. Unless it’s kabocha, which is really good.
You know, I’m sure I’ve had tarragon and chervil, but I really couldn’t say what they taste like. Ha! I am a bad cook.
Sounds amazing!! So do the butternut squash fries! I love winter squash.
Me too! I think next year, I’m going to try to grow some myself.
oh my goodness, this looks mouthwateringly delicious! I would have never thought to put it on a sandwich. I just made it chopped up with brown rice, zucchini, kale, and mushrooms. It was tasty!!!
Ooh, that sounds really good too. Kale is one of my favorites!
That looks amazing! I love squash season!!
Looks like quite a gourmet sandwich… definitley my kind of flavors
Lovely!
Thank you! Since I don’t eat meat, I’m always trying to come up with inventive sandwiches–one can only eat so many grilled cheeses.