Winter Squash, Leek and Farro Gratin With Feta and Mint

By Martha Rose Shulman

Published December 21, 2014

  • Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
1 hour 20 minutes
Rating
4(296)
Comments
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A delicious, and simple, winter squash gratin. This tastes like the filling of many Greek winter squash pies I have made, but it is a simpler dish. The squash is roasted, which gives it great depth of flavor. I love the sweetness of the squash against the salty feta, and the chewy farro against the tender squash. Most of the elements for this gratin can be prepared ahead if you want to go about this piecemeal – farro freezes well and keeps for a few days in the refrigerator; roasted squash keeps well in the refrigerator for a few days as well.

Featured in: Comfort Casseroles for Winter Dinners

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Ingredients

Yield:Serves 6

  • 2 pounds winter squash, peeled and cut in small dice (about ½ inch)

  • Salt and freshly ground pepper

  • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

  • 1 pound leeks (2 large), white and light green parts only, cleaned and chopped

  • 2 garlic cloves, minced

  • 3 to 4 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, or 1 to 2 tablespoons dried mint (to taste)

  • 3 eggs

  • 3 ounces feta, crumbled

  • ¾ cup cooked faro

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

41 grams carbs; 93 milligrams cholesterol; 325 calories; 8 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 15 grams fat; 6 grams fiber; 688 milligrams sodium; 11 grams protein; 8 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 425 degrees. Oil a 2-quart baking dish or gratin. Line a sheet pan with parchment. Place squash on baking sheet, season with salt and pepper, and add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Toss squash until evenly coated with oil. Place in oven and roast until tender and lightly colored, about 25 to 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside. Turn heat down to 375 degrees.

  2. Step 2

    Heat another tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet and add leeks. Cook, stirring, until they begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add a generous pinch of salt and continue to cook, stirring often, until tender, another 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Add squash and mint to pan and toss together. Remove from heat.

  3. Step 3

    In a large bowl beat eggs. Add salt to taste (remembering that feta is very salty) and feta, and beat together until feta has broken up into eggs. Stir in squash and leek mixture and farro. Scrape into oiled baking dish. Drizzle remaining oil over top.

  4. Step 4

    Bake 35 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from heat. Serve hot, warm or room temperature.

Tip

  • Advance preparation: You can roast the squash up to 2 days ahead of making the gratin. Cooked farro will keep for 3 or 4 days in the refrigerator and freezes well. The gratin will keep for 4 or 5 days in the refrigerator and can be frozen for a month. Thaw in medium oven or at room temperature.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
296 user ratings
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Comments

Sfrupe

If you roast a winter squash for about 10 minutes in the oven (at 375-400) you can then cut it open and peel away the outer skin!

South Ender

Since we were eating this as a main course, I doubled the farro and added 1 Tbsp of harissa paste into the leeks, along with the garlic. I think it could have benefited from one more egg (to help hold the extra farro together), but MAN was this delicious! It just seemed like it would have been a little 2-dimensional without the harissa...

Kevin Osinski

Would also be nice with fresh dill instead of mint. I saved some effort by roasting the leeks and garlic in the same pan as the squash. I added the leeks after the squash had been roasting for 10 minutes, and added the garlic 5 minutes after that.

Ethan Alexander

Good dish It does taste better to make in advance. It just takes time for that mint to work its way into the dense ingredients which is why some people say it needs other flavors or more mint. Also purely in my opinion 2 eggs is plenty

You have to cook the farro 

Wish I read that before I added it to the mixture and put it to baking

kelly

the flavors are good but mine ended up so dry. def needs a sauce!

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