How to Cook Butternut Squash and Butternut Squash Recipes

Butternut squash is a fruit/vegetable which is now widely available around the globe. Unfortunately, a great many people resist buying it when they see it in supermarkets or grocers' stores for the very simple reason that they do not know how to prepare it, cook it, or with what to serve it. As this page will show, butternut squash is a very versatile cooking ingredient and can be prepared and served in many ways, ranging from soups and stews, to being chopped and roasted as an alternative to or accompaniment for potatoes.

Butternut squash is extremely nutritious, being high in such as Vitamins A and C, as well as fibre. When you are choosing a butternut squash in the supermarket, pick one which is still hard to the touch to enjoy it at its best and feels surprisingly heavy when lifted.

The precise way in which you prepare butternut squash will vary depending upon how you intend cooking it and the recipe you are making. In most instances, however, the procedure will begin by washing the butternut squash, drying it and slicing it in half lengthwise. This will reveal the seeds which are gathered in a small bulb towards the wider base of the butternut squash. A great many people will scoop out the seeds and membrane with a teaspoon and simply discard them, prior to preparing the remainder of the squash as required.

Butternut squash seeds are not only absolutely delicious roasted, they are also highly nutritious. Instead of discarding them, therefore, add them to a medium sized bowl of warm water. Use your hands to rub any remaining fleshy membrane from the seeds, in the water. What you should find happening is the flesh sinking to the bottom and the seeds floating on top of the water. They can then simply be removed with a slotted spoon and dried with kitchen paper.

Place the seeds in a small, clean bowl and add enough olive oil and salt to coat them all evenly when carefully stirred. Make a little nest of foil on a baking tray and add the seeds to the oven, preheated to 350F/180C for ten to fifteen minutes, until the seeds are beautifully golden.

The tray should be removed from the oven and the seeds left on it to cool. They can either be eaten as a snack, or perhaps tossed in a salad as would certain types of nuts. Do, however, prepare yourself for a very welcome, if highly unexpected, explosion of taste in your mouth as you eat them...

This recipe is one which would work equally well as a casserole in the oven. It is simply some chopped butternut squash and other root vegetables, stewed in vegetable stock and served with boiled rice and chopped flat leafed parsley as a garnish.

Ingredients (Serves Two)

½ butternut squash
1 large sweet potato
1 large carrot
1 large parsnip
1 medium onion
2 cloves of garlic
3 to 4 pints of fresh vegetable stock
½ tsp ground nutmeg
1 tbsp olive oil
5oz basmati rice
Salt and white pepper
Flat leafed parsley for garnish

Method

The onion and garlic should be peeled. Quarter the onion and finely slice the garlic cloves. Bring the olive oil gently up to heat in a large soup or stew pot and add the onion and garlic. The onion will separate naturally during cooking. Cook off very gently for five minutes, stirring frequently, while the remaining ingredients are peeled and chopped as uniformly as possible.

When the onion has separated and started to take on a transluscent quality, add the remaining vegetables and stir carefully but well. Add the nutmeg and season with salt and white pepper. Add enough vegetable stock to comfortably cover the ingredients and bring to a simmer for twenty-five to thirty minutes, until all the vegetables have softened. Be sure to check for seasoning before serving.

The rice should be washed in a sieve under running cold water. Add it to a pot of boiling, slightly salted water and simmer for eleven or twelve minutes. Drain through the sieve.

Line two small bowls with a sheet of plastic film and pack in the rice. Upend the bowls carefully on to the plates and lift the bowls away. The film should either come free with the bowl or easily peel free. Spoon the stew around the rice and garnish with the flat leafed parsley.

Roasting butternut squash is one of the most common ways in which it is prepared. This can be achieved in a number of fashions and in this method, the squash is peeled, chopped and roasted in herbs and olive oil.

Ingredients for Two Servings

½ butternut squash
4 small leg of lamb fillets
1 large potato
1 large parsnip
Pinch of dried thyme
Pinch of dried rosemary
Olive oil
Salt and white pepper
Frozen peas (quantity as desired)

Method

The butternut squash should be seeded and peeled, before being chopped in to bite sized pieces. Place on a baking tray, scatter over the dried herbs, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Mix carefully but well with a wooden spoon or spatula. Place in the oven, preheated to 400F/200C, for forty-five minutes.

Peel and chop the potato and parsnip. Add to a large pot of cold water and season with salt. Bring the water to a boil and simmer for twenty -five to thirty minutes until potatoes are soft. Drain well and return to the pot. Mash with white pepper and a little butter.

The lamb fillets should be seasoned on both sides with salt and pepper before being gently fried in oil for eight minutes each side. Allow enough time to rest them on a heated plate, covered with foil, for ten minutes prior to service.

The frozen peas should be added to boiling water for three minutes before being drained and served immediately.

This way of roasting butternut squash is perfect for a simple, yet entirely satisfying, vegetarian lunch.

Ingredients per Serving

½ butternut squash
2oz pizza mozzarella cheese
Pinch of dried thyme
Salt and white pepper
Olive oil
1 large tomato
Flat leafed parsley or basil for garnish

Method

The butternut squash should be halved and seeded (reserving the seeds for later) but not peeled. A good tip here, however, is to take a very thin slice off the bulbous underside of the halved butternut squash. This allows it to be more stable both on the baking tray during cooking and on the serving plate.

Finely dice the mozzarella and mix it with the dried thyme. A good way to do this is to put both in to a small dish with a lid and simply invert the dish a few times. Stirring with a spoon can cause the mozzarella to stick to it.

The butternut squash should be placed as shown on a large sheet of tinfoil in a baking tray. The cheese and thyme should be stuffed in to its cavity. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Carefully wrap the foil to form a loose but sealed tent and put in to a preheated oven (400F/200C) for forty-five to fifty minutes.

Remove the tray from the oven and very carefully unwrap the foil. Use a spatula or fish slice to transfer the butternut squash to a plate and garnish with sliced tomato and parsley. Do note in this instance that the squash skin is entirely edible but, if desired, the flesh and cheese may simply be scooped out with a knife and spoon.

Hopefully, you will have found this page useful in terms of providing ideas on how to cook butternut squash. Thank you for spending some time reading through it and any feedback which you have may be left in the space below.