squash toasts with ricotta and cider vinegar
Lest you operate under the idea that when I go in the kitchen to work on a new recipe, adorable forest creatures gather around, bringing me my whisks and measuring cups, tiny birds whisper in my ear all the right seasoning notes and then, when I snap my last photo, my team of minions file silently in to wash the dishes while I go out on the deck to ponder my next free-form food essay, the single, completely unexciting reason I am late to share a new recipe this week is because I was chasing an exasperating salted peanut butter caramel-flavored ghost. Five rounds in, I have concluded that while there are no salted peanut butter caramels, the one I want isn’t yet within my grasp and it was time to take a break. One cannot live on peanut butter, cream, butter and brown sugar alone, after all, fun as it was for .
Estimated Nutrition (whole recipe, rough)
Counts 11 of 14 ingredients — the other 3 aren't in our nutrition table and contribute nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume — 11 portions →
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Ricotta Cheese | 1/2 cup (124g) part-skim | 174 |
| Mascarpone | 2 tbsp (28g) | 120 |
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Feta Cheese | 1 oz (28g) cheddar | 113 |
| Goat Cheese | 1 oz (28g) | 103 |
| Maple Syrup | 1 tbsp (20ml) | 52 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Mint | 2 tbsp fresh (3g) | 2 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Pumpkin | not in our table | 0 |
| Acorn | not in our table | 0 |
| Butternut | not in our table | 0 |
Totals for the whole recipe, adding one typical portion per ingredient — listed above. Quantities in the recipe are not counted, so this is a rough guide only — not suitable for medical or dietary planning.
Ingredients
- 1 2 1/2- to 3-pound kabocha or other yellow-fleshed squash (such as delicata, acorn or butternut, which I used)
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried chile flakes, more or less to taste
- Coarse sea or kosher salt
- 1 yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup maple syrup (though I’ll probably use 3 tablespoons next time)
- 4 slices country bread, 1-inch thick
- 1/2 cup (4 ounces) ricotta, goat cheese, feta or mascarpone
- 4 tablespoons chopped mint leaves