Butternut Squash, Cabbage, and Mushroom Pastel
The savory, Sephardi Thanksgiving pie of your (okay, my) dreams
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Hello The Jewish Table Readers,
Following last week’s recipe for Cranberry Walnut Challah Buns (which are currently tucked away in my freezer for Thursday), I have another cozy Thanksgiving dish for you. If you are—or love—a vegan or vegetarian, this Butternut Squash, Cabbage, and Mushroom Pastel is calling out to be the glorious centerpiece or a standout side of your Thanksgiving table.
The oil-based pastry is just four ingredients, does not require a lengthy chill (or any chill, actually) in the refrigerator, and rolls out like a dream. And the filling combines a bunch of autumn veggies like tender butternut squash, hearty cabbage, and earthy cremini mushrooms and flavors them with a warming mix of spices from the Sephardi pantry.
Golden brown from the oven and sprinkled with sesame seeds, this savory pastel is rustically beautiful, deeply comforting, and worthy of celebration. But you might be wondering:
What the heck is a Pastel?
Good question. The short answer is, it’s a savory Sephardi pie. (The word pastel is Spanish for “cake,” but in Ladino it also refers to savory pies/pastries.) But a pastel is also, naturally, so much more than that.
Double-crusted savory pies filled with meat, fish, or vegetables, date back to Babylonian times, and were a central Shabbat dinner appetizer or side dish for Jews living in medieval Spain. Since few families had access to an oven, the pies were typically assembled at home and brought to a communal bakery for baking.
After the Inquisition, Sephardi Jews fleeing violence in Spain brought their savory pie recipes with them. The dish evolved over time, which is why there is now an abundance of savory pies and pastry recipes wherever there is a historic Sephradi community. Some share a linguistic connection to pastels, like the hand-held savory pies from Rhodes called pastelikos, and North African pastilla (or bastilla), which tucks chicken and almonds into a flaky crust of phyllo dough. Others, like tapada and mina (a Passover pie that substitutes softened matzo for the crust), were renamed in their new home.
My take on a pastel is not traditional to any particular place—rather it is an American interpretation of the Sephardi pie. But it follows the basic double crust + savory filling formula, and employs a sweet-savory mix of paprika, cumin, cinnamon, and turmeric—spices that will both complement and enliven everything else on your Thanksgiving table. Let me know if you try it!
5 Last-Minute Thanksgiving Sides
Still rounding out your holiday menu? Here are 5 totally delicious, totally doable sides (or, rather, 4 sides plus 1 warming drink) from The Jewish Table archives.
Herby Green Apple and Farro Salad
Crunchy cucumbers, spicy arugula, sweet-tart apple, and chewy cooked farro grains with a dressing so good I always make a double batch.
Roasted Delicata Squash with Onion and Poppy Seeds
Tender, caramelized half moons of delicata squash given the “bialy treatment” (browned onions and poppy seeds).
Kasha Varnishkes with Fall Veggies
My favorite Ashkenazi jumble of noodles, onion, and toasted buckwheat mixed with roasted fall vegetables.
Boats of creamy acorn squash stuffed with cinnamon and orange zest-scented quinoa, dried cranberries, pepitas, and scallions. Doubles as a vegetarian main.
A blend of warm apple cider and pomegranate juice spiced with cinnamon, cardamom, and star anise. Leave it simmering in a slow cooker and let your guests serve themselves.
Butternut Squash, Cabbage, and Mushroom Pastel
The dough for this pastel is lightly adapted from the “oil pastry” recipe in Gil Marks’ book, The World of Jewish Cooking. The filling is pulled directly from my autumn veggie-loving imagination.
Serves 6 to 8
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