NationStates Jolt Archive

So, I went to the greengrocer the other day and there were some butternut squashes in the shelves. People had told me a number of times now that they are really good and all, so I took one. But... now I'm stuck for a recipe. Any ideas how I could prepare my first butternut squash ever?

So, I went to the greengrocer the other day and there were some butternut squashes in the shelves. People had told me a number of times now that they are really good and all, so I took one. But... now I'm stuck for a recipe. Any ideas how I could prepare my first butternut squash ever?

Do you want a savory dish or a sweet dish? Simple or complex?

Do you want a savory dish or a sweet dish? Simple or complex?

I'd favour savory. I don't care if it is simple or complex, really...

I'd favour savory. I don't care if it is simple or complex, really...

Okay, here's a few ideas.

Butternut squash soup is good. Cut the squash in half lengthwise. Get rid of the seeds (or save them for roasting, they work just like pumpkin deeds,) and rub the cut ends with olive oil. Sprinkel with salt and pepper.

Roast the halves in the oven at 375 F for 30 minutes or until a fork goes in easily (just like checking a potato for doneness.)

While that's cooking, on a medium low stove sautee in a pot whatever else you'd like in the soup. Onions and garlic are good. Celery is always a good addition to soups. Bell pepper maybe. Corn. Really, anything that you think might go with potato will work with squash....but squash is sweeter.

When he squash is nice and soft, puree it in a blender or food processor. Add milk and/or chicken and/or vegetable broth to get the desired thickness. Add the sauteed vegetables and simmer until the sauteed veggies are to the doneness you like.

I really like basil and/or sage with squash, but add fresh herbs at the very end of the cooking and dried herbs at the start of cooking (or you could use both dry and fresh for a deeper/more complex herb note.) Other seasonings that go good with butternut squash: Cinnamon. Nutmeg. Allspice. Cayenne pepper.

Pureed butternut squash mixed with sage and ricotta cheese makes a great ravioli stuffing. Use a little nutmeg and parmesan too. Serve with a browned butter sauce (heat however much butter you're gonna use in a small pan on low low heat until the butter solids turn light brown and smell nutty,) with some sage thrown in at the last minute. Brown up some hot italian sausage and toss that with the ravioli too, if you'd like.

Squash can also be used in chinese or thai stir-fry. cube up the raw squash and microwave it until it's halfway done (because it takes longer to cook than other stir-fry veggies), then toss it in the stir-fry with everything else. Goes great with pork and spicy sauces. Also matches awesome with coconut milk.

<snip>

Wow... they all sound great. I think I'll try the soup first... and the Ravioli when I've got a little more time ;)

Wow... they all sound great. I think I'll try the soup first... and the Ravioli when I've got a little more time ;)

Glad I could help.

Other possibilities for soup ingredients:

leeks. bacon (fry it first.) mustard greens. one could even be really really whacky and make a clam chowder with a squash puree base. New Englanders will try to kill you though.

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
2 red onions -- chopped
2 cups water
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 cloves garlic -- minced
6 cups yellow squash -- diced
1 Tablespoon fresh thyme
1 Tablespoon curry powder
salt and pepper -- to taste
1 cup skim milk
1/3 cup fat free cheddar cheese -- grated

Heat oil in large skillet. Saute red onion until tender. Add garlic and
saute 2 minutes. In large stewpot, combine onions, garlic, squash, water,
chicken broth, thyme, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 2 hours. Cool
mixture and puree in blender or food processor. Return to heat and add milk
and cheese. Continue heating until thoroughly blended. Serve warm.

Okay, here's a few ideas.

Butternut squash soup is good. Cut the squash in half lengthwise. Get rid of the seeds (or save them for roasting, they work just like pumpkin deeds,) and rub the cut ends with olive oil. Sprinkel with salt and pepper.

Roast the halves in the oven at 375 F for 30 minutes or until a fork goes in easily (just like checking a potato for doneness.)

While that's cooking, on a medium low stove sautee in a pot whatever else you'd like in the soup. Onions and garlic are good. Celery is always a good addition to soups. Bell pepper maybe. Corn. Really, anything that you think might go with potato will work with squash....but squash is sweeter.

When he squash is nice and soft, puree it in a blender or food processor. Add milk and/or chicken and/or vegetable broth to get the desired thickness. Add the sauteed vegetables and simmer until the sauteed veggies are to the doneness you like.

I really like basil and/or sage with squash, but add fresh herbs at the very end of the cooking and dried herbs at the start of cooking (or you could use both dry and fresh for a deeper/more complex herb note.) Other seasonings that go good with butternut squash: Cinnamon. Nutmeg. Allspice. Cayenne pepper.

Pureed butternut squash mixed with sage and ricotta cheese makes a great ravioli stuffing. Use a little nutmeg and parmesan too. Serve with a browned butter sauce (heat however much butter you're gonna use in a small pan on low low heat until the butter solids turn light brown and smell nutty,) with some sage thrown in at the last minute. Brown up some hot italian sausage and toss that with the ravioli too, if you'd like.

Squash can also be used in chinese or thai stir-fry. cube up the raw squash and microwave it until it's halfway done (because it takes longer to cook than other stir-fry veggies), then toss it in the stir-fry with everything else. Goes great with pork and spicy sauces. Also matches awesome with coconut milk.

That sounds great.

My wife has simpler preparation too- simply cutting it into bite size pieces, tossing in a bowl just to coat with olive oil. Lightly salt & pepper, then bake till browned on the edges in the oven, on an open pan or cookie sheet.

Even my kids eat this.

1 1/2 c Flour -- unsifted
2 ts Cinnamon
1 t Baking powder
1/2 ts Baking soda
1/4 ts Salt
2 Eggs
3/4 c Sugar
1/2 c Oil
2 ts Vanilla
1 1/3 c Summer squash
-- coarsely shredded,
-- lightly packed

Preheat oven to 350 F

Grease a 9- by 5- by 3-inch loaf pan.

Mix dry ingredients except sugar thoroughly.

Beat eggs until frothy. Add sugar, oil, and vanilla. Beat until lemon
colored, about 3 minutes.

Stir in squash. Add dry ingredients. Mix just until dry ingredients are
moistened. Pour into loaf pan.

Bake 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out
clean.

Cool on rack. Remove from pan after 10 minutes.

2 Pounds butternut squash
2 Tablespoons each butter and olive oil
1 1/2 Cups onion -- diced
1 Tablespoon garlic -- minced
2 1/2 Cups arborio rice
3/4 Cup dry white wine
7 Cups rich chicken or vegetable stock
1 1/2 Cups freshly grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground pepper
--Garnish--
Chopped chives
shaved Parmesan and basil oil

Peel the squash and remove seeds. Cut into small 1/4 inch dice. Set aside.
Heat the butter and oil together in a deep saucepan and saute the onions and garlic until soft but not browned. Add the squash and rice and continue to
saute and stir for 2-3 minutes longer. Add wine and stir until absorbed. Add
stock in 1/2 cup increments stirring until absorbed. Continue adding stock
and stirring until rice is creamy on outside but has some texture to it.
Gently stir in cheese, zest, nutmeg and correct seasoning with salt and
pepper. Serve immediately in warm bowls garnished with chopped chives,
additional Parmesan and a drizzle of fresh basil oil, if desired.

Candied Butternut Squash with Cinnamon and Honey
From Diana Rattray,
Your Guide to Southern U.S. Cuisine.
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Butternut squash is baked with honey and cinnamon and pecans and butter.
INGREDIENTS:

1 large butternut squash, quartered lengthwise
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
PREPARATION:

Scoop seeds out of butternut squash. Arrange butternut squash pieces, cut-side down, in a large baking dish. Pour hot water in the baking dish to a depth of about 1/4-inch. Bake butternut squash at 350° for 50 to 60 minutes, or until tender. Cool squash; peel.
Cut squash into 1/2-inch slices and place in a 9x13x2-inch baking dish. Pour butter and honey over squash, then sprinkle with pecans and cinnamon. Return to oven and bake for 15 to 25 minutes, until butternut squash is glazed and hot.

This one sounds really good.

Butternut squash can also be substituted for pumpkin in a pumpkin pie. I prefer roasting to boiling the squash because I think it brings out more flavor, reduces excess liquid and because you can scoop it out after roasting, rather than peeling it and cubing it beforehand.

I keep an online recipe book, so if you want some more recipes I can produce them super quick. ;)

I hate butternut squash.

So, I went to the greengrocer the other day and there were some butternut squashes in the shelves. People had told me a number of times now that they are really good and all......
What grocer sells butternut squash in Dublin??!!!

What grocer sells butternut squash in Dublin??!!!

Do you know the little grocer's in Blanchardstown on the main road, right next to the bus stop?

Do you know the little grocer's in Blanchardstown on the main road, right next to the bus stop?


No. But I once knew the muffin man.

No. But I once knew the muffin man.

*lol
Did he sell butternut squashes?

No. But I once knew the muffin man.
The muffin man?

So, I went to the greengrocer the other day and there were some butternut squashes in the shelves. People had told me a number of times now that they are really good and all, so I took one. But... now I'm stuck for a recipe. Any ideas how I could prepare my first butternut squash ever?

you will need:

squash
plastic bag
trash can
twisty tie
telephone
pizza dude

Directions: take the squash and place in plastic bag. tighten twisty tie around bag opening. place bag in trash can. pick up telephone. call local pizza place. tell the pizza dude what you want on your pizza. hang up phone. wait 40-45 minutes. when delivered, open box. enjoy.

Since others have given the more complex, I'll give the simple. (By the way, I'm a vegetable farmer. raise about an acre of butternuts)

Cut lengthwise, remove seeds. Put halves in microwave for about 15 minutes. Should be soft enough by then to cut lines through flesh (so the butter won't run off). Put on a few dabs of butter. Salt, pepper, any herbs you like. Microwave another 15 min or until soft.


Another idea, they taste a lot like sweet potatoes, so any sweet potato recipe will also work. Such as putting on a little brown sugar, cinnamon, marshmallows, etc.

They are a very flexable food and high in nutrition. and fiber.

They are a very flexable food and high in nutrition. and fiber.

Super Colon Blow?

Do you know the little grocer's in Blanchardstown on the main road, right next to the bus stop?
Vaguely... I must investigate thoroughly. * :p yum yum*

The muffin man?

The Muffin Man!

Vaguely... I must investigate thoroughly. * :p yum yum*

They are great anyway... the only ones in this town who had asparagus this spring. The white asparagus, not the green stuff... :)

you will need:

squash
plastic bag
trash can
twisty tie
telephone
pizza dude

Directions: take the squash and place in plastic bag. tighten twisty tie around bag opening. place bag in trash can. pick up telephone. call local pizza place. tell the pizza dude what you want on your pizza. hang up phone. wait 40-45 minutes. when delivered, open box. enjoy.

*L*

Damn funny! But I do like the squash.

The Muffin Man!
Everyone knows who the Muffin MAn is!

Or better yet... Muffin the Mule ;)

They are great anyway... the only ones in this town who had asparagus this spring. The white asparagus, not the green stuff... :)

I love asparagus.

I love asparagus.

My wife's favorite dinner:

Garlic bread
Marinated New York Strip steak medium rare off the charcoal grill
Grilled asparagus
Sauteed mushrooms

Bottle of Trefethen Cabernet

I love asparagus.

Me, too... and back home in Germany, you could feed it to the pigs during asparagus season, there was too much to eat it all. Only the Irish don't seem to know it at all :(

That shop in Blanchardstown seems to have very close links to Poland, that's why you get "exotic" stuff like that there.

My wife's favorite dinner:

Garlic bread
Marinated New York Strip steak medium rare off the charcoal grill
Grilled asparagus
Sauteed mushrooms

Bottle of Trefethen Cabernet

I strongly suspect you are talking about the green variant, not the really delicious, soft, difficult-to-get-in-Ireland white asparagus...

Me, too... and back home in Germany, you could feed it to the pigs during asparagus season, there was too much to eat it all. Only the Irish don't seem to know it at all :(

That shop in Blanchardstown seems to have very close links to Poland, that's why you get "exotic" stuff like that there.
Its the weather.

That, and its looks fancy compared to ye olden spud. Probably try and blame it on the English somehow I imagine....

Its the weather.

That, and its looks fancy compared to ye olden spud. Probably try and blame it on the English somehow I imagine....

It's sheer ignorance ;)
Honestly, white asparagus is in season in May, it needs lots of rain to sprout, and as it doesn't grow above ground anyway, it couldn't care less about sunshine...

I strongly suspect you are talking about the green variant, not the really delicious, soft, difficult-to-get-in-Ireland white asparagus...
Yes, the green variant.

I've grown the white variant.

It's sheer ignorance ;)

That too :D

Yes, the green variant.

I've grown the white variant.

There's a purple variant now too.

Whole lot of strange colors in veggies these days. This year I grew striped pink eggplants, black (they're really purple though,) tomatoes and orange cauliflower.

Also, 5 kinds of basil...

slice it, dip it in milk/egg mixture, coat it in instant mashed potato flakes, deep fry!!!!!!!!!!!:D

good greasy fattening fun :p

And here's me with only one squash and all those recipes to try ... :D

Thanks, all

My wife's favorite dinner:

Garlic bread
Marinated New York Strip steak medium rare off the charcoal grill
Grilled asparagus
Sauteed mushrooms

Bottle of Trefethen Cabernet


Thats not to far of what my favorite would be too. She has good taste.

Although, given a choice, I would prefer a flank steak over the New York Strip. And really rare. Really, really rare.

Garlic bread made from a semolina loaf.
Asparagus brushed with garlic infused olive oil and salted.

I'm not big on wine, but I do like one glass of Merlot from time to time.

I have it on good authority that fetuses are a good substitute for tofu.

There's a purple variant now too.

Whole lot of strange colors in veggies these days. This year I grew striped pink eggplants, black (they're really purple though,) tomatoes and orange cauliflower.

Also, 5 kinds of basil...


Now my mouth is watering-A sandwhich of whole basil leaves, sliced plum tomatoes, proscuitto and fresh mozzerella on italian bread with tiny splash of olive oil & vinegar

And here's me with only one squash and all those recipes to try ... :D

Thanks, all
Cabra, could you post up what you did actually cook in the end and how? Sad I know :D but am interested to see what you made after all this!