Kabocha Squash Gratin
かぼちゃのグラタン
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
This gratin takes naturally sweet kabocha squash, mashes it with a little butter, and bakes it under a quick, mild meat sauce made with ground pork and ketchup. Kabocha is one of the vegetables children take to most readily, and pairing its sweetness with the savory tomato sauce makes it disappear fast. There is no cheese or white sauce here, so it comes together with just a frying pan and an oven, and the squash goes in skin and all so nothing is wasted.
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Ingredients
Amounts for 1 child (1 serving). An adult counts as 2 servings.
One serving here is 1.5× the portion served to a child in a Japanese preschool, sized for Western appetites. An adult counts as two servings. Tap an ingredient to check it off.
Ingredients
- 93 gkabocha squashSweet, dense Japanese pumpkin with dark green skin and orange flesh. Substitute: Butternut squash or another sweet winter squash.
- 19.5 gonion
- 22.5 gground pork
Seasonings
- 1.8 gunsalted butter
- 1.8 gvegetable oil
- 1.8 gflour
- 13.5 mlwater
- 13.5 gketchup
- 0.1 gsalt
- to tastepepper
About the Japanese ingredients in this recipe
- kabocha squash (かぼちゃ)
- Sweet, dense Japanese pumpkin with dark green skin and orange flesh. Substitute: Butternut squash or another sweet winter squash.
Directions
- 1
Cut the kabocha squash, skin and all, into roughly even chunks. Boil until tender, mash coarsely, and mix in the butter.
- 2
Finely chop the onion. Heat the oil in a frying pan and sauté the onion. Add the ground pork and cook, stirring.
- 3
Turn off the heat and stir in the flour. Once no dry flour remains, add the water, ketchup, salt, and pepper and simmer to make a meat sauce.
- 4
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, spread the mashed squash from step 1 over it, and top with the meat sauce from step 3. Bake in an oven preheated to 200°C (400°F) for about 10 minutes.
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 174 kcal | 348 kcal | 174 kcal |
| Protein | 6.3 g | 12.6 g | 6.3 g |
| Fat | 7.5 g | 15 g | 7.5 g |
| Carbohydrates | 26 g | 51.9 g | 26 g |
| Fiber | 3.9 g | 7.8 g | 3.9 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.6 g | 1.2 g | 0.6 g |
| Calcium | 27 mg | 54 mg | 27 mg |
| Iron | 0.6 mg | 1.2 mg | 0.6 mg |
| Potassium | 549 mg | 1098 mg | 549 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 174 kcal | 6.3 g | 7.5 g | 26 g | 3.9 g | 0.6 g | 27 mg | 0.6 mg | 549 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 348 kcal | 12.6 g | 15 g | 51.9 g | 7.8 g | 1.2 g | 54 mg | 1.2 mg | 1098 mg |
Values are per serving (1.5× the Japanese preschool portion); an adult serving is double. They were calculated by a licensed Japanese nutritionist using the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan. "Salt equivalent" is sodium × 2.54, the standard Japanese measure. Allergen flags cover egg, milk and wheat only and come from the nutritionist's records. Soy sauce and miso are made with wheat but are usually allowed on Japanese wheat-free school menus, so check with your doctor.
