Butternut Sage Biscuits & Gravy

Sweet butternut squash in a savory sage biscuit. Hello, fall, and welcome to my Thanksgiving table. Top it with the best gravy I've had in my life, and now we're talking. Vegan gravy? Yep, and it knocks the socks off it's non-vegan competitors I have had in the past. It is simple, healthy, and heart warningly delicious. Top these biscuits with butter if that's your thing, and maybe pour this gravy over your entree, such as my favorite lentil loaf. Any way you can, get these flavors on your plate. 

The gravy is simply simmering some cooked navy beans with broth, onion, garlic, seasoning and a bay leaf. Then blending it to creamy perfection in your blender. 

The biscuits are made with hearty, whole spelt flour and seasoned simply with sage and roasted butternut squash puree. They were inspired by these biscuits I had spotted a bit ago. 

Yields about 3 cups of gravy and 5 jumbo biscuits. 

Ingredients

Gravy

1/2 cup dry navy beans or 1 1/2 cups cooked

2 1/2 to 3 cups vegetable broth

2 teaspoons pink salt or to taste

1/3 cup yellow onion roughly chopped

3 cloves of garlic roughly chopped

1 bay leaf

Biscuits

1/4 cup almond milk

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 cups whole spelt flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon fresh sage finely chopped

1/2 cup butternut squash puree fresh or canned

1 tablespoon vegan butter softened

For the gravy, if using dry beans, begin by soaking them for 24 hours in a bowl covered in water. Rinse and drain, and transfer to a pot on your stove filled with 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for an hour to an hour and a half (or until fully cooked). 

Rinse and drain your cooked beans (whether fresh or canned) and transfer to a medium size pot on your stove. Cover with brother and add onion, garlic, salt, and the bay leaf. Bring to a simmer and let cook for 20-25 minutes uncovered. 

Discard the bay leaf, and blend the mixture in a glass blender (let cool before blending in a plastic one). Add any additional veggie broth at this time to thin out to your desired consistency. I did not add any because I like my gravy thick.

For the biscuits, combine the almond milk and apple cider vinegar in a small dish and set aside to curdle while you assemble the rest of the dough. In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients and mix well. Create a well in the center of your flour mixture and add the butternut squash, butter, and curdled almond milk to it. Mix well with a spoon until the dough comes together and is well mixed and sticky. Do not over mix (a minute or two should do the trick). 

You can either preheat your oven to 400F at this point, or do as I did and heat a 10 inch cast iron skillet on low heat on your stove (I would have baked them but I had an apple pie in the oven at the time set to a different temperature so I got creative and they turned out awesome). 

Press your dough out with your fingers on a lightly floured work surface and use whatever circular device you'd like to cut out five jumbo biscuits. 

Bake them in the oven for 10-12 minutes on a parchment lined baking sheet or in a greased pie dish. 

If doing the cast iron method, add some vegan butter or olive oil to your cast iron pan, add the biscuits, and cover with a lid. Cook on low for 7-8 minutes on each side, adding a little more butter or oil to the pan when you flip them half way through. 

Biscuits are best eaten right away or that day. Once gravy has cooled it will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. 

Baked Butternut Squash Macaroni & Cheese

Creamy butternut cheese sauce with shell noodles made from quinoa, topped with a crunchy panko crumbs + herbs layer. Finally, a vegan macaroni and cheese that I love (since it is nutritional yeast free!). I know, so many people love using nutritional yeast in vegan cheese recipes - and swear by it - but I am always at a loss because I cannot seem to get my taste buds to agree with its flavor. So until then, I will make this version happily. A healthy, vegan, and gluten free dish that made my macaroni-and-cheese-dreaming day. You do not have to bake it if you prefer it straight out of the pot. This version just gives it a crunchy top layer that I love. Also, if you prefer super cheesy macaroni, consider making 1.5x the sauce recipe I make below. If you do not have time to roast a butternut squash, the canned version is fine too - just use 1 cup canned instead.

Ingredients
1 small butternut squash
Olive oil
Fresh thyme
8 ounces quinoa pasta shells or your favorite pasta
1 tablespoon Earth Balance vegan butter
1 cup plain almond milk
1 tablespoon arrowroot starch
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4-1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
1/3 cup panko crumbs
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Begin by preheating the oven to 375 F. Slice your butternut squash in half, scoop out the seeds, and brush inside with a little olive oil. Lay a piece of parchment down on a cookie sheet, and sprinkle with fresh thyme sprigs (optional). Place your squash halves cut-side down on the thyme sprigs on the baking sheet. Roast squash for 30-40 minutes, or until the inside is tender and scoop-able. Let the squash cool while you boil a large pot of water and cook your pasta according to the package's instructions.

While pasta is boiling, make your cheese sauce by melting the earth balance in a small saucepan on the stove. Next, add the arrowroot starch and whisk until it forms a paste. Now add in the almond milk and whisk until the paste mixture dissolves. Add the dijon mustard and seasonings, and continue to whisk until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool a bit. Combine your cheese sauce from the stove with the flesh of the butternut squash (about 1 cup - 1 1/2 cups) in a food processor and process until smooth and creamy. Make additional tweaks to the taste by adding in any additional seasonings you desire.

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Once pasta is done cooking, drain, and toss with the cheese sauce. Scoop macaroni and cheese into a non-stick 8x8 inch baking pan. Mix the panko crumbs and seasonings together and sprinkle over the top of the macaroni. Bake covered with foil for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes. Let it sit and cool for 10 minutes before serving. I served mine alongside some steamed green beans that I drizzled with lemon juice and sprinkled with a little sea salt.

Butternut Lasagna

For most people who know me, this was a strange dish for me to make! I grew up hating lasagna. Something about ricotta cheese always grossed me out. Therefore, I have never made a lasagna in my life. It finally hit me recently that since I'm vegan I have a great excuse for leaving out the ricotta, and could substitute so many other delicious ingredients instead! And since I seem to be putting squash in everything nowadays, it made sense to squeeze it in here too. Final verdict: I finally found a lasagna I love! I could not believe it, this lasagna takes the cake in my opinion. The combination of a savory roasted tomato basil sauce and sweet butternut squash really got my taste buds going. So much that I ate a third of the dish, A THIRD. I felt like a huge piece of lasagna for the rest of the day, but I didn't care, cause I finally found a lasagna I like and will definitely be making this again!

I used gluten free organic brown rice noodles in this recipe, but if you are not gluten free you can use whichever noodles you'd like. 

Ingredients
1 box of organic brown rice lasagna noodles (I found mine at Whole Foods)
1 cup Daiya mozzarella cheese shreds
1 butternut squash
6 roma tomatoes
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1 sweet onion, diced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon dried thyme, or fresh if you have it
3 teaspoons sea salt, divided
3 cups fresh spinach, chopped

Begin by preheating your oven to 375 F.

For the butternut squash: cut off the ends, slice in half, remove seeds, peal, and dice into cubes. Place cubed squash into a 9x13 inch non-stick baking pan (optional: toss with a tablespoon of olive oil). Place on the center rack in your oven to roast for 40-45 minutes.

For the tomatoes: In another baking pan, place your Roma tomatoes after slicing them all in half with their cut side facing up. Place this pan on the rack below the squash. Roast the tomatoes and squash together until the squash is tender enough to easily stick with a fork. Like I said above, it should take about 40-45 minutes.

While the squash and tomatoes are roasting, prepare the rest of your ingredients. For the spinach, rinse, dry, and chop. Set aside. For the onions and garlic, mince and sauté for a few minutes in a pan on medium heat until onions are translucent. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Boil and cook your lasagna noodles according to the package's directions to "al dente". Drain and set aside.

By the time you finish this prep work your squash and tomatoes should be ready! Remove both pans from the oven, and leave the oven at 375 F to bake your lasagna at once it is assembled.

Now, in your food processor (or large high speed blender) combine your roasted tomatoes, fresh basil leaves, 1 1/2 teaspoons of sea salt, and half of the sautéed onion and garlic mixture. Transfer to a bowl and rinse the food processor bowl and blade. Now add the roasted squash to the food processor bowl along with the rest of the sautéed onion and garlic, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt, and fresh thyme. Blend until smooth.

Now to assemble the lasagna! Begin by spreading a few tablespoons of the tomato sauce mixture onto the bottom of a 8x8 non-stick baking pan. Create a layer with your lasagna noodles. Then spoon on half the butternut squash mixture, followed by a 1/3 of the tomato sauce, then half of the chopped spinach, and a handful of Daiya mozzarella cheese shreds. Repeat this layer once more. Then top with a third layer of noodles, the last third of the tomato sauce, and a sprinkle of Daiya cheese. Bake covered with foil for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool/set for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.