Hi Friends! It’s finally starting to feel like fall in our neck of the woods, and there is so much cooking and baking to do this time of year. Here is the thing, I need to give you some building blocks. Do you have a favorite cookbook author? I have a bunch, and I own a lot of cookbooks. The one’s I love best each have a chapter in them call “Kitchen Staples,” or “Recipe Building Blocks,” or “This Cookbook and These Recipes are Useless without These.” That last one, it’s a stretch, but it’s important. You have to know kitchen cooking basics, like how to hold a knife, and when to add salt and pepper to a recipe, and you need basic building blocks or building recipes to go from A to Z with your cooking. Butternut squash puree is one of those basics in my fall and winter recipes that I use a lot, and have it in my fridge all the time, and with the abundance of butternut squash we have access too, it’s easy and versatile.
There are a lot of pictures here to make the step by step easier.
So first, and foremost, you have to have a sharp knife. I don’t want to harp, but butternut squash is a tough SOB and you need sharp knife.
You will notice my knife blade is clearly not the length of the squash, so cutting this can pose a challenge. Don’t fret. I’ve got you covered.
Put the knife tip in the middle of the squash.
And holding the bottom of the squash (away from the blade) gently glide the blade to one end. Once you get one half cut, remove the knife blade, go back to the middle and take the blade in the opposite direction.
Before you and your ten fingers know it, they are split in two.
Remove the seeds.
Ready to go.
On a half sheet pan, place the squash flesh side down. And add about a quarter of an inch of water to the pan.
Close the oven and forget about it. For forty minutes. When you can easily insert a fork into the top or thicker flesh, you are good to go.
Leave to cool on the counter for a bit. For some, like Chef that is five minutes, for me it’s about fifteen minutes because I am impatient. For most an hour will do you good. You can wait all day, I just don’t want anyone getting burned.
Because of the this method of steaming the squash, the skin comes off with very little effort.
You can see I am just peeling it off with my fingers. If it is giving me grief, I peel it off with a paring knife. It is faster than peeling by hand.
Once peeled, I rough chop into smaller, more manageable pieces for the food processor.
Pulse until your heart is content. I added a quarter cup of water to this.
Done and done.
Could you eat this just like this? Absolutely. This will keep in the fridge for several weeks in an airtight container.
Want to get a little fancy? When you puree, add a few tablespoons of melted butter and salt and pepper. Or two to three tablespoons of maple syrup. Easy side dish. This will keep for a week in your fridge in an airtight container.
One building block down. More to come. Plus other great recipes for butternut squash puree.
Butternut Squash Puree
Yields 1 quart of puree
1 butternut squash, on average grocery stores have around 3lb squashes
water
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Cut the butternut squash in half, lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds. On a half sheet pan, put the squash flesh side down. Once you put the sheet in the oven, add enough water to the pan for a quarter inch of water to be up the side of the pan. Bake/steam for 40 minutes before opening your oven. Insert a fork into the top where there is the most flesh, if you can do so easily, the squash is fully cooked. If not, wait ten minutes.
Remove from the oven and cool until comfortable handling. Peel the skin off using your hands or a paring knife. Cut into manageable pieces and puree in a food processor. You may need to add a quarter cup of water to smooth the puree.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for several weeks.