Tessa Kiros and Pumpkin Crostone - IHCC

Each time, the potluck has come up, I've tried to choose a different chef to highlight and this month is no different. I have never cooked any of Tessa Kiros' recipes, so this weekend, I'm trying her recipe for Pumpkin Crostone from her cookbook called Limoncello and Linenwater.

After the chocolate cake blow-out that we had here in the grey cottage earlier this week, we've gone back to simple meats and more vegetable sides to re-coup some semblance of a more modest calorie intake. Hence, today's dinner is a beautiful green salad, and these simple toasts that are topped with winter squash (in lieu of the pumpkin). The pumpkin is sitting on our stoop to welcome all the wonderful Fall produce that will be coming through the door in the weeks to come!

This simple crostone can be served as a starter or as a side vegetable/starch ... it's easy, doesn't have exotic ingredients, and is full of rustic appeal. It's very pretty too ... don't you think? The onion rings are just some leftovers that came home after a lunch out with a friend ... a nice garnish and a treat for SB.

Pumpkin Crostone

a Tessa Kiros recipe

Serves 2

2 c. coarsely mashed roasted winter squash

3 tbsp. olive oil

3 oz. sweet white onion, finely chopped

12 fresh sage leaves

4 slices artisan bread, lightly toasted

1 large clove garlic, sliced in half length-wise

4 heaping tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
Kosher salt and black pepper for sprinkling

Making the Crostone:

1. Preheat oven to 400° F.
2. Peel and chop a winter squash or pumpkin into ½ inch cubes. Toss them with 1 tbsp. olive oil and some salt and black pepper and place them in one layer on a foil-lined baking sheet. Cover snugly with another piece of foil and roast for 25 minutes. Remove the foil midway through roasting time (when you can begin to smell the squash cooking) and turn the cubes so they brown up all around.
3. Meanwhile heat the rest of the olive oil in a small fry pan. When the oil is hot, drop the sage leaves in the oil and ‘frizzle’ them for about one minute. Watch carefully and when they curl up and begin to brown at the edges, remove them to a paper towel to drain the oil.
4. Place the chopped onion in the hot oil and cook the onions until they are glistening and just beginning to get golden at the edges. Turn off the heat and scrape the onions into a small bowl. Set aside.
5. Mash the squash coarsely and add 2 c. of the squash to the onions. Salt and pepper to taste. Reserve any remaining squash for another use.
6. Place the sliced bread on a baking sheet and toast lightly in the preheated oven. Remove and rub one side of the toast slices with the garlic clove.
7. Mound the squash and onion mixture atop each slice.
8. Top each toast mound with a generous tbsp. of Parmesan cheese. Return the toasts to the oven and bake for ten minutes or until the cheese melts.
9. Remove and top with the frizzled sage leaves and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
10. Serve piping hot as a starter or as a side vegetable dish.