How creative is your butternut squash?

Some ideas and recipes to take you past the butternut squash soup.

Oh look! Butternut squash is on sale, again. Let’s buy a whole bunch and suffer through months of soup. Or maybe we can change it up and make bisque. Or forget about it until it has dried up and can be used as maracas. Maybe you don’t have that conversation with yourself, but I’ll bet that the majority of people that walk by that overly full bin of squashes have no idea what to do with that oddly necked squash, except to make soups. And it’s not that I blame them. As an American culture, we are rather limited in creativity when it comes to the butternut squash. Just by watching commercials you get the idea that butternut squash is only good for soups.

For all our non-creativity when it comes to home cooking, butternut squash has a long a very culinary background. American Indians called it the Apple of God, and it was thought to increase fertility. It is a fall product, as it is planted in the summer. And that’s when we do get a little more creative, adding it to our pumpkin and apple recipes, and even sweet potatoes. Remember, when you are buying that discounted squash, to not buy any with green on them, as they were plucked immature, and that they, the mature ones, can be stored for months in 50 to 55°F temperatures.

All that is all well in good, but what about that soup? Let’s forget the golden soups for a moment and think about some of the other things that we can concoct. Candying the squash is a sweet alternative to the candied sweet potato. This recipe leaves out all those sugar and brings in a little more backyard nature with honey. Allow us to once again bring the butternut squash to the front, no more second fiddle to the other fall produce. With a butternut squash risotto you will do just that. Feel like a little breakfast? Butternut Squash Muffins are just the thing. But what to do with the leftover squash after the muffins have been consumed? Ravioli or pizza is the perfect answer.

Now that you are salivating, and envisioning even more creative ways to prepare your butternut squash, I have some bad news for you. This squash is a tough one, and dicing it raw can be a bit of a pain with its tough skin, bulbous seed and fiber filled base, and its long skinny neck. Yet there is a way. First remove all that skin with a peeler. Then cut the squash in half, removing the neck from the base.  Make sure you have a strong, sturdy knife. Now cut the base in half, and use a spoon to remove all the seeds. Turn the halves, hollow side down, and cut into 1/2-inch slices. The should look like crescent moons. Now, you can dice. Next, stand the neck up on end and cut planks 1/2-inch thick, cut those into ½ inch strips, and finally dice.

Now you know the basics, and some tantalizing new recipes, don’t hesitate on buying or growing butternut squash. I know that you can be very creative.