Kate McConnell’s Meaty Pumpkin Souffle

Kate McConnell and her husband, Brad, are members at CFBB.  Kate was a rower in high school in Northern VA and then for a year at the UVA back in the very early 90s (a club sport back then - today it is a full varsity sport).  She also rowed recreationally when living in Providence, RI, as an adult.  If you need some rowing tips, hit her up if you see her in your class.  Our class got some very useful information from her before Jackie on Wednesday.  

Kate passed this recipe on to us and it looks outstanding!  It's a takeoff on a recipe from Everyday Paleo...enjoy...

Kate's Meaty Pumpkin Souffle:

1 Large butternut squash and 1 smaller squash

1 Tbsp coconut oil

1 red onion, diced

1 lb ground beef

1 lb lamb

1 Tbsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 cut fresh mint, finely chopped (original recipe calls for basil, which is expensive and hard to come by this time of year; besides, mint is a nice complement to lamb)

5-6 cups fresh spinach, finely chopped - eyeball it, just a lot of spinach - remember, it cooks down!

1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp fresh grated ginger (powder will work too in a pinch)

3 egg whites

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Peel, cut the butternut squash in half, scoop out seeds.

3. Roast, cut side down, on baking sheet until nice and soft (fork goes in easily)

4. While roasting the squash, heat the coconut oil in a large skillet and cook onion till it is soft.

5. Add the meats and brown.

6. Add the garlic, salt, pepper. Mix well.

7. Add the spinach and basil, stir well, and remove from heat.

8. Spread the mixture evenly in a large glass casserole pan.

9. Using the food processor, process the butternut squash till it is relatively smooth (this is where I depart from her recipe - I didn't have time/inclination/energy to be anal about squash consistency. She says very smooth).

10. Mix in the cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg well.

11. Beat your eggs, and then fold into the butternut squash to add a bit of binding (again, her recipe is more anal about stiffening the eggs to get the souffle effect.)

12. Spread over the top of the meat mixture.

13. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.