Deconstructed Butternut Squash Bowls with Herbed Grass-Fed Beef, Wild Mushrooms, Apple, and Walnuts
All the cozy flavors of fall in one bowl: Parmesan-roasted butternut squash, grass-fed ground beef sautéed with fresh rosemary, thyme, and sage, golden wild mushrooms and onions, crisp apple, and toasted walnuts. Organic, nourishing, and made from scratch, with each element arranged in its own section, so everyone can build their perfect bite.
Yield: Serves 4 · Active: 35 min · Total: 45 min · Best in North America from fall through early winter, when butternut squash, apples, and walnuts are harvested · Best eaten: midday or early evening
Ingredients
Parmesan-roasted butternut squash
1 medium butternut squash (about 2½ lb), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tbsp grass-fed ghee or extra virgin olive oil
¾ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
⅓ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated
Sautéed wild mushrooms and onion
8 oz wild or mixed mushrooms (chanterelle, maitake, oyster, shiitake, or cremini), torn or sliced
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp grass-fed butter or ghee
A few sprigs of fresh thyme
½ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
Herbed grass-fed beef
1½ lb grass-fed ground beef
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp each fresh rosemary, thyme, and sage, finely chopped
1 tsp Baja Gold sea salt
½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
2–3 tbsp beef bone broth (optional, to keep it juicy)
To finish
1 crisp apple (like Honeycrisp), diced, tossed with a squeeze of lemon
½ cup walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
Optional: crispy sage leaves (fried for a few seconds in 1 tbsp butter until crisp)
Optional: a handful of baby arugula or massaged kale, as a base
Flaky sea salt
Method
Roast the squash. Heat the oven to 425°F. Toss the squash with the ghee, salt, and pepper, and spread it in a single layer on a sheet pan. Roast 25–30 minutes, flipping once, until tender and caramelized. For the last 5 minutes, scatter the Parmesan over the squash, so it melts and crisps.
Sauté the mushrooms and onion. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms in a single layer and leave them 3–4 minutes, until golden, then stir. Add the onion, thyme, and salt, and cook 6–8 minutes more, until the onion is soft and golden. Move to a bowl.
Cook the beef. In the same skillet, brown the ground beef over medium-high heat, breaking it up and letting it sit undisturbed for a minute or two at a time, so it browns rather than steams, 6–8 minutes. Add the garlic, rosemary, thyme, sage, salt, and pepper and cook 1–2 minutes, until fragrant. Grass-fed beef is lean, so add a splash of broth if it looks dry.
Toast the walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat for 3–4 minutes, until fragrant.
Build the bowls. Add a handful of greens to each bowl, if using. Then arrange the squash, beef, mushrooms and onions, apple, and walnuts in separate sections, and finish with crispy sage and flaky salt.
Make ahead: All the elements keep refrigerated up to 4 days, which makes these perfect for meal prep. Store the apple and walnuts separately, and add them fresh when serving.
Storage: Refrigerated up to 4 days. Reheat the squash, beef, and mushrooms gently in a skillet or a 375°F oven.
Nourishment Notes
Grass-fed beef — complete protein, heme iron, zinc, B12, and CLA, plus more omega-3s than conventional beef.
Butternut squash — beta-carotene (made more absorbable by roasting in ghee), potassium, vitamin C, and fiber.
Wild mushrooms — ergothioneine, beta-glucans, B vitamins, and copper.
Apple — pectin, quercetin, and a fresh, crisp contrast.
Walnuts — ALA omega-3s and polyphenols.
Rosemary, thyme, and sage — rosmarinic acid, carnosic acid, thymol, and cineole.
Parmigiano-Reggiano — calcium, K2, and protein.
Onion and garlic — quercetin, allicin, and prebiotic fibers.
Grass-fed butter and ghee — vitamins A and K2, CLA, and butyrate.
For your cycle: The beef's heme iron, zinc, and B12 make this especially restorative during the menstrual phase, and the squash's steady carbohydrate is grounding in the luteal phase.
Sourcing
Ground beef — 100% grass-fed and grass-finished, from a local farm, White Oak Pastures, or US Wellness Meats
Butternut squash, apples, onions, garlic, rosemary, thyme, sage, and greens — organic, from a farmers' market in fall
Mushrooms — wild mushrooms from a trusted forager or farmers' market, or organic cultivated mushrooms from a local grower
Walnuts — organic, kept in the fridge
Parmigiano-Reggiano — DOP, aged 24+ months, made from raw milk by law
Beef bone broth (optional) — homemade from grass-fed beef bones, or Bonafide Provisions (organic, sold frozen)
Grass-fed butter and ghee — organic, cultured butter from 100% grass-fed cows; grass-fed ghee
Lemons — organic
Salt — Baja Gold sea salt; Maldon for finishing
— Anna aka Food Marshall