Many of us roast butternut squash and serve it as a side dish – the addition of croutons here put it into the salad category. You could add another vegetable – like Brussels sprouts – when roasting the squash.
Warm Butternut Squash Salad
Butternut Squash
Roasted Chicken and Butternut Squash Soup from Serious Eats
Here’s the idea: Grab some produce, seasoning, and perhaps some protein, throw it on a sheet tray and roast until golden and tender, then mash it up into a rustic, warming soup. Roasting adds a depth of flavor that simmering will never provide, and it also makes for a low-fuss dinner that tastes like it took a lot more effort than it did.
In this recipe, chicken thighs are tucked in amongst chopped onion and cubed squash (peeling and preparing the squash is the hardest part of this whole thing), then shredded into the soup. Ground cumin and coriander add a little punch to help cut the sweetness, and a crucial squeeze of lemon adds acidity to keep it all in balance.
Browned Butternut Squash Couscous
And then there’s that ubiquitous butternut squash. You do know that you don’t need to be in a hurry to use it up – it will keep, in your pantry, for months. A nice reminder come February of the bounty of the fall season.
Several MBers have mentioned butternut squash risotto, and this recipe will give you a similar dish that’s doesn’t require quite as much attention. I love couscous, and I love this combination with almonds and scallions.
Vegetable Mafé
Finally I offer this recipe for an African-inspired stew. It was wonderful, even better the next day as most stews are. I still have a few hot peppers which are basically just drying out in the refrigerator, so I used them in place of the serranos this recipe calls for. The cabbage was the quarter head still in the vegetable crisper. No butternut squash still in your pantry? Just add more rutabagas or sweet potatoes. And maybe you’re one of those brilliant souls who took Suzanne’s suggestion and canned your own tomatoes this summer when they were in such abundance. The perfect accompaniment? MB cornbread or corn muffins.
Adapted from a recipe in “The Cornbread Gospels” by Crescent Dragonwagon (Workman, $14.95).
Black Bean and Butternut Chili
Over at the Splendid Table on National Public Radio, they’re cooking up a vegetarian chili with butternut squash. The recipe is from “Party Vegan: Fabulous, Fun Food for Every Occasion” by Robin Robertson. Maybe like me you still have one remaining pepper from a November box. Mine are turning red and sweet, making them perfect for this chili.