Butternut Squash - Great fall food

Since we’re in “fall mode,” I’ve been seeing more and more of my favorite foods on cooking shows.  This week, I saw a great chicken pot pie done by Anne Burrell that incorporated butternut squash.  (Autumn Chicken Pot Pie, Secrets of a Restaurant Chef.)

I’ve long been a fan of butternut squash.  However, I really didn’t know much about the vegetable before I started this post.  I wanted to be a bit more knowledgeable before speaking to it.  This yellow skinned, orange fleshed squash comes from the area around Mexico and Guatemala.

Top Nutrients (per 1 cup serving):

Vitamin A (145%)

Vitamin C (33%)

Potassium (26%)

Dietary Fiber (23%)

Manganese (22%)

Good flavor pairings: Sage, maple, cinnamon, ginger, mushrooms, cheddar cheese, blue cheeses.

There are various methods of preparing butternut squash.  The most common is roasting.  By roasting this squash, a very sweet, rich flavor is developed.  I decided to embark on a butternut squash recipe marathon.  To start, I made Butternut Squash Ravioli in Cider Broth; a very simple, tasty dish.  I next made Penne with Roasted Butternut Squash.  This dish added some complexity with the addition of smoked ham.  Later this week, we’ll have some more ravioli…but this time with Emeril’s sage and brown butter sauce (below).

My favorite butternut squash preparation is what I like to call “Fall Mock Mac & Cheese.”  I roast a whole butternut squash until sweet and soft.  I then puree it in a blender with skim milk, chicken broth, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.  The mixture should be fairly thin…definitely thinner than your average pureed squash soup.  I then make homemade spaetzle.  After crisping up the spaetzle a bit, I pour in several ladles of the squash mixture until it coats the spaetzle.  Delicious!  With one whole squash, you can have numerous Mock Mac meals.  I usually freeze half the mixture for future meals.

Here are some other recipes that I’d like to suggest.

From the Food Network:

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Crispy Sage and Brown Butter, Emeril Lagasse

Stewed Butternut Squash with Apples and Smoked Bacon, Emeril Lagasse

Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese, Rachael Ray

Mashed Butternut Squash and Pears, Danny Boome

From Gourmet

Butternut Squash Ravioli in Cider Broth

Butternut Squash and Cannellini Soup with Bacon

From Cooking Light

Squash Stuffed Cannelloni with Roasted Shallot Sauce and Hazelnuts

Penne with Roasted Butternut Squash and Ham