In 2020, Lula Cafe chef-owner Jason Hammel did what he could with pivots to keep his business afloat. But he also accomplished something he’d been wanting to do his entire adult life: write a book. “The pandemic gave me a new sense of perspective and urgency,” he says. “I almost lost my business and it could happen again, so I needed to preserve the gift Lula has been in my life.”
The Lula Cafe Cookbook: Collected Recipes and Stories ($50) arrives this month, and it’s a beaut — the kind of cookbook that makes you want to drop everything and start shopping. The 90 recipes are pure Lula: seasonal and veg-forward, but with a sense of urban style and a fine attunement to Midwestern tastes. A lengthy foreword tells the story of how Hammel started this pioneering Logan Square establishment, and his prose has a spare melancholy and musicality you don’t expect from a cookbook.
Hammel’s first love, it turns out, was writing. After graduating from Brown, he studied with the late, great novelist and essayist David Foster Wallace at Illinois State in Normal. While there, he began slinging pizzas for money and found that the kitchen life agreed with him. He moved to Chicago and opened Lula Cafe in 1999, the same year the Green City Market debuted, a chance synergy that, he says, changed his life: “I met chefs like Rick Bayless, Carrie Nahabedian, and Paul Kahan, who led me through the sourcing process, taught me a lot about the vagaries of the Midwest season, and introduced me to farmers with whom I’m still friends today.” His book is partially inspired by them, paying tribute to the city that led him to his voice as a chef and writer.
Here, Hammel shares his recipe for butternut squash. His version include a ’nduja vinaigrette and aged Gouda. “ ’Nduja is a fatty, funky spreadable cured pork sausage from Calabria,” Hammel says. “Kind of like an Italian chorizo. Ours is made by Tempesta.” It’s a dish ideal for the Thanksgiving table, especially if your dinner guests welcome a punch of heat.
Jason Hammel’s Butternut Squash With ’Nduja and Aged Gouda
| Roasted Butternut Squash | |
| 1 | butternut squash (31/4 lb.) |
| 2 | Tbsp. olive oil |
| 2 | tsp. salt |
| Freshly ground black pepper, to taste | |
| ’Nduja Vinaigrette | |
| 1⁄2 | cup ’nduja |
| 1 | Tbsp. chopped shallots |
| 1 | tsp. chopped garlic |
| 1 | Tbsp. sherry vinegar |
| 6 | tsp. oil |
| Fried Pumpkin Seeds | |
| 2 | Tbsp. oil |
| 1⁄3 | cup pumpkin seeds |
| 1⁄4 | tsp. paprika |
| 1⁄8 | tsp. salt |
| Roasted Garlic | |
| 3 | heads garlic, top sliced to expose cloves |
| 21⁄2 | cups vegetable oil, plus more as needed |
| Roasted Garlic Aïoli | |
| 2 | egg yolks |
| 8 | cloves roasted garlic |
| 3 | Tbsp. lemon juice |
| 1⁄8 | tsp. salt, plus more to taste |
| 1 | cup oil |
| To Serve | |
| 2 | Tbsp. roasted garlic aïoli |
| 1⁄2 | oz. aged Gouda, shaved |
| 1⁄4 | oz. dill |
1. Make the roasted butternut squash. Separate the neck of the butternut squash from the round bottom section. Peel both, then slice the neck crosswise into ¾-inch-thick rounds. Cut the bottom section in half, scrape out the seeds, and cut the halves into wedge-shaped pieces. You should have approximately six rounds and nine wedges. Lay out the rounds and wedges on a rimmed baking tray. Brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast until just tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Make the ’nduja vinaigrette. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and purée until smooth.
3. Make the fried pumpkin seeds. In a skillet, heat oil, then add pumpkin seeds. Toast over medium-high heat until fragrant, glossy, and golden green. Season with paprika and salt. Set aside on a paper-towel-lined tray.
4. Make the roasted garlic. Heat the oven to 300 degrees. In a small baking dish, add garlic and enough oil to submerge it. Cover the dish with foil and cook garlic until golden, tender, and lightly roasted, about 1 hour. Let cool, then store garlic in oil. When ready to use, squeeze roasted garlic out of the cloves.
5. Make the roasted garlic aïoli. In a blender, add egg yolks, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and 1 tablespoon water. Blend on high, then slowly stream in oil to create a thick emulsion. Season with salt.
6. Serve. In a large sauté pan that will fit all the squash, add ’nduja vinaigrette, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, then let it melt before adding squash. Cook over medium-high heat until edges of squash crisp and broken vinaigrette starts to turn golden brown. Baste squash with vinaigrette, continuing to allow it to brown. On a platter, schmear roasted garlic aïoli. Top with squash and vinaigrette, followed by aged Gouda, fried pumpkin seeds, and dill.