Butternut squash « Putney Farm

Red Curry Glazed Butternut Squash.

While we try to avoid temptation, new cookbooks do seem to find their way into our kitchen. And we are not talking about gifts, we succumb to the sirens of glossy photos and new recipes all on our own. In the age of the internet, it sometimes seems silly to have so many cookbooks, but we love them anyway. And unlike a PC or iPad, cookbooks can take some abuse in the kitchen- so that is at least one good excuse to keep adding to the collection.

And we recently added “Ripe, A Fresh, Colorful Approach to Fruits and Vegetables” from Cheryl Sternman Rule to our stacks. The cookbook is an ode to seasonal produce and features good, mostly simple, recipes and some serious “Food Porn” photos (from Paulette Phlipot). One of the first recipes we found was this version of butternut squash with a curry paste, honey and coconut milk glaze. We love the sweet, rich flavor of butternut squash, and our kids like it, so we serve it often. Usually we go for sweeter glazes of sugar or maple syrup with salt, pepper and butter, but we are always looking for new flavors and this recipe goes with coconut rice (and we do like our coconut rice). So we gave it a go.

And we are glad we did. The curry mixture adds a touch of spice and depth to the sweet squash and develops a nice red-brown crust. This is a good-looking squash dish, but since it comes from a “Food Porn” cookbook, that isn’t a surprise. And the dish is very easy to make, you don’t even need to peel the squash. Quarter and seed the squash, season and coat with oil and then bake in the oven. Make the glaze. Flip the squash halfway through cooking and then add the glaze and broil a few minutes. Then serve with a garnish of toasted cashews (peanuts will also work) and some cilantro. Good as a side or light main dish.

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Butternut squash gnocchi with sage brown butter, bacon and hazelnuts.

As we noted earlier this week, fall really isn’t quite here yet. But we already jumped the gun with the Applejack Rabbit cocktail, so why not move directly to the heart of the colder seasons and work with butternut squash? And while butternut squash is a “winter” squash, that just means you can store it over the winter. It is perfectly good to eat in the fall (or even late summer). And we do like our butternut squash, it is sweet and savory and a great ingredient in all sorts of dishes. And if you use butternut squash in pasta with some brown butter and maybe some sage…well, then you start inching towards culinary nirvana.

Somewhat monochrome ingredients, but you get a colorful dish.

Just because we like the photo…and the ingredient.

And while we like to make pasta at home (frankly, with mixed results) we do know we can make gnocchi, and it will be good. And if we use butternut squash, it can be very good. And this gnocchi is easy to make, but it does take a little time- time well spent. And this is a frugal dish as well. Butternut squash, flour and butter won’t break the bank. And they are pretty good for you, too…you get the idea.

Cut the top and bottom from the squash.

Quarter the squash and cook in the microwave.

Scoop out the flesh from the squash.

If you are unfamiliar with gnocchi, it is simply a small dumpling that usually combines a cooked starchy vegetable like potatoes or squash (although you can also use ricotta cheese- but that is for another post) with flour and seasoning . The dumplings are boiled and then served, or cooked a second time (usually browned in butter). What you get is a remarkably light-textured, but very hearty dumpling that pleases a crowd (and sticks to their ribs). Basically, if you want to feed a bunch of kids after they play sports, gnocchi is a good choice.

Grate some nutmeg.

Add flour and the seasoning. Start to mix the dough. Continue reading →

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Tag Archives: Butternut squash

Red Curry Glazed Butternut Squash

Butternut Squash Gnocchi

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