This really traditional beef empanadas dish hails from Salta, one of Argentina’s Northern Provinces. These delicious empanadas are made with ground beef, potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, and a light handmade crust.
| Prep Time: | 35 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr 15 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 50 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
Ingredients
- 1 (3 pound) butternut squash
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- ¼ cup thinly sliced green onions, plus more for garnish
- 10 ounces diced smoked ham
- 6 ounces Gruyere cheese, diced
- 2 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- Slowly and carefully cut butternut squash in half lengthwise, starting at the stem end. Scoop out seeds with a spoon. Slice off about 1/8 inch from the bottom of each half to ensure they lay flat while baking. Place onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Roast in the center of the preheated oven until tender but not falling apart, 60 to 90 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit until cool enough to handle. Increase the oven temperature to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C).
- Use a spoon to scoop squash flesh into a bowl, leaving about 1/2 inch attached to the skin so shells won’t collapse and fall apart later.
- Add egg, Dijon, salt, and pepper to squash; mix and mash with a spoon until smooth, or leave it a bit chunky if desired. Stir in green onions, ham, and diced Gruyère; mix until combined.
- Scoop mixture back into squash shells, distributing as evenly as possible. Sprinkle grated Gruyère over top.
- Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is browned, about 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and transfer squash halves to a cutting board. Garnish with green onions, cut each half into four slices, and serve.
- Choose a butternut squash with a bottom and top that are about the same size. This will give you more squash and fewer seeds.
- Although Gruyère is the classic cheese used in Cordon Bleu, a nice sharp white Cheddar would work out beautifully.
- To serve this as a holiday side dish, just switch out the ham for some caramelized mushrooms.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 293 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 21 g |
| Cholesterol | 74 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Protein | 18 g |
| Saturated Fat | 8 g |
| Sodium | 613 mg |
| Sugars | 4 g |
| Fat | 17 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I must admit I was somewhat skeptical about this recipe due to the lack of seasoning but, based on the positive reviews, I decided to chance it. I used deli ham and goat cheese that I had on hand instead of smoked ham and Gruyere because I was anxious to make it. Oh, and I don’t have Dijon mustard. I was delicious and I will definitely make it again since my husband grows butternut squash in our garden.
Hubbs really liked this squash. Didn’t change anything, it was a great way to use up freezer ham from Thanksgiving!
LOVE THIS. And so did the people at the potluck. My only change was to forgo the shell/boats and just turned it into a casserole. Everyone was raving about it. I also did a smaller butternut with Saitan (a bit of liquid smoke, worcestershire, and brown sugar to mimic the smoked ham flavor) and that was GONE too. Yet another triumph for Chef John.
My family loved this recipe. My wife was talking about how good dinner was over a hour after we ate. I wasn’t too sure how my 8 year old was gonna like it. But she thought it was very good and described it as if McDonald’s was to do Mac & cheese this is what it would taste like. It was a strange way to give a complement, but I’ll take it. I will add this to a fall rotation of meals for sure. Since the roasting takes most of the time I roasted it the night before. Also the night before prepped the ham and cheese mixture. Wrapped the squash on the fry and in the fridge overnight. Next day scooped and mixed with egg and Dijon. Made it a quick meal. Thanks again, Chef John.
so good!
Absolutely excellent ! Thanks for creating such a nice recipe
Made it without the ham to go with a huge pork chop! Delicious! Gruyere cheddar blend from TJs.
Absolutely delicious! I made a few changes. Per Chef John’s suggestion, I caramelized one onion and added in place of green onions. I also used Swiss cheese in place of Gruyère. I added 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning too. I sprinkled Parmesan cheese along with remaining Swiss on the top prior to final baking. We loved it! Will make again!
Great taste!
Fabulous. I used emmental instead of greyere and it was great.
We loved this dish. I made it just like the recipe and we ate it 2 nights straight it was so good!
I’ve always made Chicken Cordon Bleu from scratch, but saw this and realized how much easier it would be. We all LOVED IT!! My guests were very impressed! I’m making it for the 3rd time today. The only change I made was to use baby Swiss, as that I what I use in my Chicken Cordon Blue, plus its cheaper than Gruyere. I love Chef John’s recipes, as well as his personality. As always, thanks Chef John!
Very good recipe as is and extremely easy. I will definitely be making it again!
My mom really liked this recipe, while I thought it was OK. I won’t make it again, as I prefer my butternut squash side dishes to taste like butternut squash. If you’re looking for something more, though, give this dish a try!
It was okay. My husband and I didn’t care for the combination of flavors. I think I’ll keep my butternut squash and my “cordon bleu” separate in the future.
I used havarti in the stuffing and a different shredded white cheese mix As a topping…it was delicious and hearty !
Amazing! I cooked the squash in the microwave 5 min at a time 4 or 5 times until tender. Followed the recipe the rest of the way using sharp cheddar and white onion. So so good, the mustard makes it. Will make again with different combos. I’m thinking garam masala would be a great addition, and of course cayenne. Yet another Chef John recipe that tastes as good as it sounds!
I followed the recipe exactly, and everyone loved it. Since I really don’t like mustard, the next time I made it I substituted the mustard with a few pinches of cayenne and some smoked paprika. I loved it even more.
Made it twice so far. Followed the recipe exactly the first time, came out great and I really enjoyed it. Second time, made it into more of a casserole. I used frozen pre-cut squash (from Costco), followed the microwave instructions for that. Mashed up the squash from there, seasoned it, and added the ham, cheese, egg, mustard. Topped with extra cheese and baked for about 20 min at 475. Came out great too! I just wanted a way that was a little quicker for week nights. Will for sure make it again both ways.
Have made this twice now and plan to have it at thanksgiving. Excellent recipe!
This was good. I used pre cut butternut squash and roasted it in the oven with some olive oil. I smashed some of the butternut and left some intact. Otherwise I followed the recipe and then put the ingredients in a greased casserole dish and topped with cheese.