from Chez Panisse Vegetables, by Alice Waters

ingredients

• 5 onions
• 2 pounds acorn or butternut squash
• 6 cloves garlic
• cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 bay leaves
• 12 sprigs thyme
• 1 cup red wine
• 3 quarts chicken stock
• 1 pound chanterelle mushrooms
• Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
• 10 slices country style bread
• 3 ounces Reggiano parmesan cheese

method

1. Begin by stewing the onions, peeled and sliced thin, over medium heat, in about 1/4 cup of olive oil. When they have begun to soften, add the garlic cloves, also peeled and sliced thin; the bay leaves; and the thyme. Continue to cook the onions until they just begin to brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Add the red wine and reduce by half. Add the stock and simmer for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, peel and seed the squash and cut it into 1/8-inch-thick slices. Clean, slice, and saut the chanterelles in a few tablespoons of olive oil, until they brown. Salt and pepper them, and add to the simmering stock. In a saut pan over medium heat, lightly brown the slices of bread in more olive oil or duck fat.
3. Preheat the oven to 375F and assemble the panade: Cover the bottom of a large casserole with half the bread slices and gently ladle in enough broth (including the onions and chanterelles) to cover. Make a single layer of the sliced squash on top and ladle in more of the broth, to cover. Make a layer with the rest of the bread, add more broth so that the top layer of bread is well soaked through, and finish by grating the Parmesan over the top to cover lightly. Bake, covered, for 45 minutes; then uncover and bake for about 45 minutes more, until well browned. To serve, scoop the panade into bowls and ladle more of the hot broth around it.

serves 8-10.

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