Sunday, October 23, 2011

Bacon Squash Dutch Baby

For breakfast I usually make a batch of omelette muffins or I have leftovers from dinner.  But I was wanting something different and something a little more bread like.  I was thinking of those french toast type casseroles.  I knew it wasn't going to be quite that heavy since paleo cooking doesn't produce a heavy or dense product but still I wanted something besides straight up eggs.  I started searching Chowstalker and came across The Foodie and The Family's grain free German apple pancakes.  I did a little search for German pancakes and learned that they are also called Dutch Babies.   After searching for different recipes to get an idea of what to do with mine, I just decided to use The Foodie's recipe.  I wanted to make a savory dish but I wasn't entirely sure of what to leave out since I had never made one before.  In the end I just replaced the sweet ingredients with my savory ones and kept the syrup since the dish is suppose to be sweet.  The end result was something that was very reminescent of bacon and pancakes with syrup.  It was quite yummy but it wasn't really the prettiest dish from a photographer's eye.  So, I'm just going to post the recipe and when I figure out how to make it as pretty as The Foodie's german pancake I'll do it justice add the picture.  Check out The Foodie's beautiful german pancakes here: http://www.thefoodieandthefamily.com/2011/10/05/grain-free-german-apple-pancake
Bacon Squash Dutch Baby

12 eggs
2 C. almond milk
1/3  C. coconut oil, melted
1 T. maple syrup
1/2 C. coconut flour
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
2 C. diced butternut squash
2t. chopped thyme
2t. chopped rosemary
1 package of bacon, cooked and chopped
2 green onions diced, white bulb and green tops
1/4 C. coconut oil
1/4 C. maple syrup
1/8 t. cinnamon
1/8 t. nutmeg
pepper to taste
  1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, 1/3c coconut oil, 1T syrup.
  3. In a small bowl combine the coconut flour, baking soda, and cayenne pepper.
  4. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and whisk until well combined.  Set aside while you prepare the rest.
  5. Add the butternut squash to a skillet with a little fat of your choice.  Cook until it just begins to soften.  Add the herbs and toss well. Remove from skillet.
  6. In same skillet, heat the 1/4 C coconut oil and the 1/4 C maple syrup.  Add the cinnamon and nutmeg and cook about 1 minute.
  7. Add the squash and bacon to a 9x13 dish, sprinkle the green onions over, and then pour the oil/syrup mixture over it.  Whisk the egg mixture a little and then carefully pour into the baking dish.
  8. Bake for 20 minutes at 425 degrees and then reduce the heat to 375 and bake for 20-25 minutes longer.
** Notes:
  • While I liked the sweetness of the dish I think I will put less syrup in the next time so that I have something a little more savory but with a hint of sweetness.
  • I did a small dice on my squash but the next time I will use large chunks (probably quarter size or a little larger), especially if I precook the squash like I did in this recipe.  I'm still debating on whether to pre-cook the squash or leave it raw and letting it cook as the dish bakes.  If I decided to add it raw to the baking dish then I will try a small dice.