Wilted Greens Salad with Butternut Squash and Apple

This recipe appeared in the February 2012 issue of Bon Appétit. It’s very like the wilted kale salads that have become ubiquitous on high-end salad bars.

This recipe is from Michael Paley of the Garage Bar in Louisville, Kentucky. As the magazine put it, “This dish flips conventional Southern cookery on its head. Rather than cooking greens into submission, they’re quickly brined to soften their texture and mellow their bitterness, then married with the sweet, salty, and creamy elements of a composed salad.”

I can’t wait to try this. And yes, I still have a butternut squash from last year’s box that’s been waiting for just this recipe.

Butternut Crab Cake

Finally, that bounty of butternut squash may be getting a little daunting. This recipe is sort of out there, but David Larkworthy of Five Seasons Brewing Company is an amazingly talented chef, and this is one of his recipes. Worth considering, even if 2 pounds of jumbo lump crab meat will be quite an indulgence. Butternut squash in place of cracker crumbs, bread crumbs and other fillers … it’s the kind of thing only a chef would dream up.

South American Butternut Squash Stew

Thanks to Andrea B. who picks up her Riverview box in Grant Park for sending in this recipe from the February 2010 issue of Cuisine magazine. he recipe headnote says it’s an iconic South American stew called locro, and a perfect winter meal when served with crusty bread. This would be a great use for that jar of tomato sauce in this week’s box.

Murphy’s Butternut Squash Soup with Candied Ginger

African squash is a Kubota-type squash that looks something like a butternut. It’s a uniquely local product as the seed was brought back from Zaire by Bobby Burns, a gardener at Koinonia Farm in Americus back in the 1990s. It’s become a favorite of local chefs and Murphy’s Restaurant serves this soup made with African squash. The recipe works just as well with our butternut squash. I like the interesting combination of seasonings.

Balsamic Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Butternut Squash

Finally, this is a recipe we ran in the AJC last year in a story about sweet potatoes. It will work perfectly well with just butternut squash – and it really is good.

This dish is pretty irresistible even for those who expect their sweet potatoes to be sweet. A little honey tips the scale slightly to the sweet side, but the natural sweetness of the butternut squash and sweet potatoes may be all you need.

These savory roasted vegetables combined with crisp arugula could be served as a salad-like first course, or as a side dish with the main meal. And it’s easy to halve or double the recipe, depending on the number of people you’re serving.

To make ahead of time, roast the sweet potatoes and squash a few hours or a day ahead and refrigerate up to 1 day. Heat roasted vegetables in a microwave in 2- to 3-minute intervals until just warmed through, then combine with arugula and dress with balsamic vinegar and olive oil just before serving.