Thursday, November 1, 2012

My Lunches With Butternut Squash

This last week I was on a mission. In the past I've had butternut squash, but this year I grew enough for one every week for five months. Usually I puree most of it and have things like squash casserole, cake/bread, or pie. But with so many squashes in my pantry this year I thought I ought to try some new recipes. And note that my husband doesn't eat butternut squash so it is on me to finish all these. So with that in mind I had to get some new recipes for squash.

Winter is all about soups for me, so I wanted to make two kids of soups, both with beans and squash as that is what is in my pantry. One is the typical curry based soup. I haven't done this yet. For this I'm going to have to make my own curry powder. I'll have to experiment with it. I can't use prepackaged curry powders since I can't eat the chili peppers that they all contain. The other I wanted to be a more traditional western soup. Granny came to my rescue with this one. She sent me a whole bunch of recipes with squash and one of them contained a soup recipe. It was a fairly basic ham and beans soup but it had squash in it. Lots of squash. I hadn't thought of adding ham to a squash and bean soup. It was perfect. Though as usual with ham a beans soups, it was very heavy. So my final addition to brighten it up a bit was some Greek yogurt stirred in just before eating. The recipe called for a ham bone, but I used a ham hock. I haven't cooked with ham hocks before, but I like them. Sadly I've never seen them for sale at the farmers markets. Mine came from a half pig that my townhouse mates and I split ages ago. It has been a long time since I've bought any kind of meat from a supermarket. But ham hocks might make me go.

The next recipe tried was Smoked Ham and Butternut Squash Spaghetti from Food Wishes. This was so good. As in the last recipe I found it a bit heavy so I added a dash of lemon juice and some white wine to the sauce which helped a lot. Maybe next time I'll add a touch of sage. Sadly though my sage plants didn't do well this year. One of the even died. The last one seems pretty sick. So I don't have a lot of sage this year. Which is sad since I love sage and butternut squash. I might just have to buy some. After the changes its only problem is the call for mascarpone cheese which is not something that I normal stock in my fridge. I wonder if mascarpone cheese freezes. That would solve the problem.

The other two recipes I made were tried and true. This was my black bean and squash tacos. I liked them better last year. I wonder what I'm doing differently this year. I also made some left over hot pot soup yesterday. This version though was done as an egg drop soup.

I'll probably still look for more recipes containing squash. I think what I'd love to try now is just the typical squash puree or sauteed cubes as a side dish. You know the fairly plain and easy side dish that I can eat any day with most of my meals. I do love squash that way. But the question becomes what seasonings and other ingredients to put in it. I could go savory and add butter and sage. Or maybe a cumin based one. I could go sweet and add a touch of maple syrup and pie spices. What is your favorite way to prepare it?

I'm hoping Robin is back from her vacation and she has power and no damage. I know she lives in eastern PA which was hit by Sandy. If she gets her post up I'm going to link to Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard, if not I'm going to chew my fingernails down.

14 comments:

  1. Butternut squash is so versatile. We had some this weekend that a friend fixed with carrots and sweet potatoes added. It was a broth based and she pureed it all up. I like to toss chunks with a little olive oil and then sprinkle with cumin or cinnamon. But butter and sage is classic too. It's a shame you lost your sage. I have trouble keeping thyme plants going.

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  2. My favorite butternut squash recipe at the moment involves preserved lemons. They are so easy to make, that you'd have time before your squashes ran out! Here is the recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Israeli-Couscous-with-Roasted-Butternut-Squash-and-Preserved-Lemon-102250 It has been my go-to recipe for potlucks for ages, and I always go home with an empty container.

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  3. I have always eaten my butternut squash sweetened, baked or steamed as a starchy side dish or as "pumpkin" in a dessert. I have so many this year, I'm going to experiment as soon as the weather gets so cold that I feel like cooking.

    Robin was back on land in Florida last Saturday, ready to fly home depending on the weather. That was the last I heard from her!

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    1. Thanks for the update Granny. I'm guessing she is without power or stuck in Florida. I hope things aren't too bad for her. Let me know if you hear anything else.

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  4. A new follower here. :) My favorite recipe for butternut squash is a butternut squash lasagna. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Roasted-Butternut-Squash-Rosemary-and-Garlic-Lasagne-13479

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  5. A favorite around here is squash peeled and sliced about 1/2-inch thick, sauteed in olive oil until browned and tender and then served with an agrodolce sauce (garlic, wine vinegar, sugar, and a touch of cinnamon).

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  6. I brought back 5 or 6 butternut squash from my Mom's yesterday. She grows so many so easily. I cubed one small one after peeling and sprinkled with olive oil, cumin and cinnamon and roasted it at 400ยบ till browned and tender. Delicious! I also make a soup with butternut, parsnips, shallots, cumin, ginger and water that is a favorite at this time of year.

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  7. Besides the soup my mom mentioned above, another way we enjoy butternut squash is this dish with lentils. I substitute other greens for the arugula as needed, but it would also be good on top of brown rice. Something about the cumin is so wonderful. I know you'd have to leave out the chipotle/paprika, but maybe a cumin and thyme would be good instead.

    Another one we enjoy is this Autumn Millet Bake.

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  8. Your recipes look so darned good! I love butternut squash soup and as someone mentioned above, we also make butternut squash lasagna. I haven't tried this, but have heard people are using pureed squash to thicken stews too and that makes them very healthy and good. That sounds like something worth trying.

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  9. I am just starting to plow through my stash of winter squash too and like you - my husband basically does not eat it other than a very few items and limited at that. Thanks for all the inspiration with this post. Lots of good ideas.

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  10. Mascarpone is easy to make at home, basically it's just like making ricotta but with heavy cream instead of milk. http://www.bakingobsession.com/2009/05/02/homemade-mascarpone-cheese/

    Also, if you have space to freeze it, you could get local pork by the half or quarter hog and get ham hocks that way from a local butcher (if you can store it and will find ways to use it this tends to be less expensive too.) My freezer isn't quite big enough for this, but I do take advantage of Easter ham sales and stock up for the year; chopping the hams into serving sizes and saving the bones for soups.
    Sounds like you have lots of new recipes to try out, good luck and I hope you aren't sick to death of squash by next Spring!

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  11. K doesn't like squash either although he will eat it in baked breads or pies without complaint. I like squash but don't really know what to do with it other than serve it mashed as a side dish. That grows tired quickly. I hope Robin, The Italian, and their home are all ok.

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  12. When I roast butternut squash I coat it in an oil and soy sauce mixture, not much of each - about a teaspoon of soy in with the normal roasting oil. It adds a really nice sweet and salty dimension.

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  13. Thanks for all the ideas everyone. It will give me a lot to try out. I always love to play with my food.

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