My love of Butternut Squash

I think my love of butternut squash comes from my love of anything pumpkin and sweet potato. (once fall comes around and pumpkins start to show up at the Farmer's Market I'll be in total bliss) Cooked butternut squash tastes much like those other two. Not too many people I know cook butternut squash and I'm not sure why. It's not hard to do. And there are many new recipes besides the standard roasted bits or soup. Take a look at the 2 dishes that I've made over the past couple of days. Both came from one rather large (almost 2 lbs.) whole squash.

First Up: Butternut Squash Gratin (courtesy of Cooking Light)

5 cups (3/4-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 2

pounds)

1 (1 1/2-ounce) slice white bread

4 teaspoons olive oil, divided

2 cups thinly sliced onion

1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cooking spray

1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled blue cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Steam butternut squash, covered, 10 minutes or until tender.

3. Place bread in a food processor, and pulse 12 times or until coarse crumbs measure 1/2

cup. Transfer to a small bowl; add 2 teaspoons oil, and toss with a fork to combine.

4. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sliced

onion to pan; saute 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Transfer the onion mixture

to a large bowl. Add butternut squash, chopped sage, salt, and black pepper to bowl, and toss

gently to combine. Spoon squash mixture into an 11 x 7–inch baking dish coated with cooking

spray. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes. Sprinkle crumbled blue cheese evenly over squash

mixture, and sprinkle evenly with breadcrumb mixture. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until

the cheese is melted and crumbs are golden brown.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)

CALORIES 186 (31% from fat); FAT 6.4g (sat 2.4g,mono 2.9g,poly 0.5g); IRON 1.7mg;

CHOLESTEROL 7mg; CALCIUM 173mg; CARBOHYDRATE 30.9g; SODIUM 379mg; PROTEIN

5.1g; FIBER 4.8g

Cooking Light, DECEMBER 2008

Oh man...this has sage (another one of my favorite ingredients that you don't see a lot) and blue cheese. Heaven!

All golden and toasty.

And spooned out on my plate.

Second Dish: Pest Pizza with Butternut Squash (again from Cooking Light)

6 (1/4-inch-thick) slices peeled butternut squash or

pumpkin (about 1/2 pound)

2 teaspoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon olive oil

Cooking spray

1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded fontina or Gouda cheese

Pizza Dough

1 (14.5-ounce) can finely chopped tomatoes, drained

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 cup Classic Pesto

1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Romano or Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400°.

Combine first 3 ingredients in a medium bowl. Place squash mixture on a baking sheet coated

with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until squash is tender.

Increase oven temperature to 450°.

Sprinkle fontina over dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border; top with squash mixture, tomatoes,

and oregano. Drop Classic Pesto by level teaspoons onto mixture; sprinkle with Romano. Bake

at 450° for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Totals include PIzza Dough

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

CALORIES 310 (30% from fat); FAT 10.4g (sat 4.5g,mono 4.1g,poly 1.1g); IRON 3mg;

CHOLESTEROL 23mg; CALCIUM 242mg; CARBOHYDRATE 42.3g; SODIUM 511mg; PROTEIN

12.4g; FIBER 2.8g

Cooking Light, SEPTEMBER 2002

Okay folks, it doesn't get much easier than this. I sliced the squash pieces from the same squash that I got my cubes from. I opted for store bought pesto (hey, sometimes I'm lazy) and store bought pizza dough.

Okay..the smell is amazing when it comes out of the oven.

Then when you take a bite: the tomatoes and squash are sweet while the pesto and cheese are salty. Great combination of flavors!