Roasted Squash, Bean and Cornbread Hotdish

Beans, Vegetables and New Traditions

One 9×13 in (23×33 cm) dish, at least 3.5 qt/3.3 L;6 meatless main-dish portions · Active 40 min · Total 1 hr 50 min

Roasted squash gives this bean filling sweet browned edges without releasing a raw vegetable’s water beneath the cornbread. Kidney beans begin commercially cooked and drained. A thick tomato-and-pepper base supports a shallow yellow batter, making a meatless pan with clear contrast between soft filling and a tender bread roof.

Jump to ingredients

Drawn roasted-squash and kidney-bean hotdish beneath golden cornbread.

Roast squash until it is almost ready to eat

Peel the squash, remove seeds and weigh the prepared cubes. Spread them across two trays rather than steaming a crowded mound. A little oil and salt help their edges color. They should be nearly tender before assembly, with enough shape left for folding into the beans. A watery pumpkin purée would be a different ingredient and would not replace these cubes. The separate roast can overlap the skillet sauce, so it adds useful texture without making the entire preparation sequential.

The beans are already cooked

Use canned kidney beans, drained and rinsed. They supply a ready-cooked component and need no soaking or raw-bean cooking stage in this recipe. Whole beans sit in a thick sauce rather than free tomato liquid. Cook onion and pepper soft, simmer passata with spices and stock, then add beans and roast squash carefully. A spoon pulled through should leave a brief track. If the mixture is loose, reduce it before the batter goes on; the cornbread cannot correct a watery filling after the top begins to set.

Mix the yellow batter when the pan is waiting

Have the dry bowl and wet bowl measured, but combine them only after the filling is hot. Stir just until flour disappears. Spoon several patches across the dish and join them gently, keeping the layer shallow rather than making a tall center mound. Check for wet batter at a middle point and require the final casserole temperature in the filling as well. A short rest helps the top lift with each portion. Six marked areas make it easier to share the bread without stripping most of it off the first spoonful.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb 9 oz peeled seeded winter squash in 3/4-in/2-cm cubes (700 g prepared)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil (30 ml), divided equally between squash and filling
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine salt (3 g), divided equally between squash and filling
  • 1 medium onion, chopped (150 g)
  • 1 large red bell pepper, diced (150 g prepared)
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped (6 g)
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin (2 g)
  • 1 teaspoon mild smoked paprika (2 g)
  • 1 2/3 cups tomato passata (400 ml)
  • 1/2 cup low-sodium vegetable stock (120 ml)
  • 2 cans commercially cooked kidney beans, drained and rinsed (1 lb 1 oz/480 g drained total)
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 3/4 cup fine yellow cornmeal (120 g)
  • 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (100 g)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder (8 g)
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine salt (1.5 g), for topping
  • 1 large egg
  • 3/4 cup milk (180 ml)
  • 2 tablespoons neutral oil (30 ml), for topping

Set out

Oven, Two large rimmed roasting trays, 9×13 in (23×33 cm) baking dish, at least 3.5 qt/3.3 L, Large deep skillet, Two mixing bowls, Whisk, Skewer, Rimmed sheet under dish, Suitable foil if needed, Food thermometer

Allergens

Milk, Egg, Wheat; check stock and cornmeal labels. Check labels and substitutions.

Make it

  1. Heat oven to 425°F (220°C). Toss squash with 15 ml olive oil and half the filling salt. Spread in one layer across two trays and roast 25–30 minutes, turning once, until almost tender with browned edges.
  2. Meanwhile heat remaining 15 ml olive oil in the skillet over medium heat. Cook onion and pepper 8–10 minutes until soft. Add garlic, cumin and paprika 30 seconds, then passata, stock, remaining filling salt and pepper. Simmer 8–10 minutes until thick. Fold in beans and roasted squash and heat 3–4 minutes until steaming.
  3. Reduce oven to 400°F (205°C). Put the baking dish on its rimmed sheet and spread hot filling inside. Mix cornmeal, flour, baking powder and topping salt in one bowl. Whisk egg, milk and topping oil in the other, then stir wet into dry just until combined.
  4. Spoon batter across the hot filling in patches and join gently into a shallow layer. Bake 25–30 minutes until golden, no wet batter remains on a skewer and the filling reaches 165°F (74°C) in several places. Shield the top loosely if needed while the middle finishes.
  5. Rest 5 minutes. Mark the top into six portions, then lift each with its share of filling.

Keep the roast pieces visible

Fold squash in after the sauce is thick. Some edges can break naturally, but hard stirring would turn a textured filling into a uniform orange mash.

A useful detail

The 110-minute total includes preparing squash, overlapping roasting and sauce, quick batter mixing, the full bake and rest. Canned kidney beans are the stated starting ingredient; raw dried beans are not added to this pan.

Another way

  • Use 700 g prepared butternut squash, acorn squash or firm cooking pumpkin. Keep the same cube size and roast until nearly tender; a wetter variety may need a little longer on its tray.

Keep it well

Refrigerate shallow portions within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F (32°C), at 40°F (4°C) or below. Use within 3 days or an earlier ingredient deadline. Reheat filling and cornbread to 165°F (74°C), covering initially to limit drying. Freeze promptly cooled portions for up to 1 month for quality; thaw in the refrigerator.

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