Okay, I’ll admit it — I was a little skeptical about this French Fridays with Dorie. Not because of the brussels sprouts or the squash, because I really like both of those vegetables, but because they were steamed. Why steam vegetables, when you can roast them? Needless to say, I am not a huge fan of the steamed vegetables. But, I set my vegetable preparation beliefs aside and I made the recipe pretty much as written and well, I really liked this one.
A couple of notes: Instead of a sage leaf in each packet, I used some dried sage tossed in with the salt, pepper and olive oil. For the butternut squash, I substituted a small delicata squash. And finally, I used the parchment paper heart method for the en papillote-ing.*
I believe I’ll even try making this one again, but add a piece of fish to the bottom of each packet — maybe halibut or salmon. I probably would have tried it this time but I was way too lazy to stop and get fish on my way home from work, which is how a lot of meals end up vegetarian.
As a reminder, all of these FFwD posts are recipes from the cookbook, Around my French Table by Dorie Greenspan. Okay, here’s a link to all the posts this week and my photos below!
* Fold a piece of parchment in half and cut out a heart. Lay the vegetables on one side, fold over the other side and working around the edge, crimp it shut. Voilà ! A parchment packet ready for steaming.
Brussels sprouts are at their best roasted, but I really liked this one as well. (And easy clean up!)
I liked the method but would like to try a different mix of vegetables (without the apple). Your photos are great!
Cher: Definitely easy clean up! And yep, agree with you on the roasting. But, I always do that and it was kind of fun to try cooking them a different way!
Susan: Thanks! 🙂
Yes, a piece of salmon would have made for a nice 1 bag meal with no cleanup. Also, I’m impressed with your parchment skills; your little parcels look much neater than mind did.
I love the idea of putting fish in with the veggies! I broiled salmon to go along with it, and that was a very nice pair. I imagine salmon cooked right in the packet would make for a lovely meal. I liked how fresh this turned out, given how earthy I think squash and sprouts can be. It was an interesting contrast to roasting. And beautifully done here – nice job!
Me too, I like the idea of adding fish to the packet. Did you know that you can eat the peel of delicata squash? That would make it even easier…
Love your comment about laziness leading to vegetarian meals – that can be so true! I really like your idea of adding fish underneath the veggies, too. And your first photo is beautiful.
Beautiful photo and you got the steam! I was going to try to do that but nobody at my dinner table is patient enough to let me try stuff like that! I am bookmarking this to show them what they deny me! Thanks for making this dish look so beautiful!
Gorgeous photos ! I used the ground sage as well and did like the flavor it added to this combo. I know roasting would be lovely also, but I did like experimenting with this technique again – I think the last time I used it was for fish and tomatoes when Nana and I did a FFWD recipe while visiting Martha’s Vineyard. Too much time passed between attempts on a very quick and easy way to cook.
This one was good. I have never cooked with a delicata squash before. How fun to mix it up a bit! A piece of fish would be a nice addition but I totally understand not wanting to make a stop when you are on your way home. And once home, forget about going out again!