Spiced Butternut Squash Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Pour a thin layer of water in a baking dish, or a cookie sheet with sides. Place the squash halves cut side down on the dish. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a fork can easily pierce the flesh. Cool slightly, then remove the peel. Set aside.
• Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, leek and garlic, and saute for a few minutes, until tender. Pour the chicken broth into the pot. Add the potatoes, and bring to a boil. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until soft. Add the squash, and mash with the potatoes until chunks are small. Use an immersible hand blender to puree the soup, or transfer to a blender or food processor in batches, and puree until smooth. Return to the pot.
• Season the soup with cayenne pepper, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, salt and pepper, then stir in the sherry and half-and-half cream. Heat through, but do not boil. Ladle into bowls, and top with a dollop of sour cream.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a 12 cup muffin pan.
• In a medium saucepan with enough water to cover, boil squash 20 minutes, or until tender. Remove from heat, drain, and puree in a food processor.
• In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, white sugar, salt and pumpkin pie spice.
• In a medium bowl, thoroughly mix together milk, egg and butter. Stir in squash. Fold the squash mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened.
• Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling cups about 1/2 full. Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from muffin pan and cool on a wire rack.

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, tomatoes, and spices and cook until the cinnamon stick unfurls and the tomatoes are cooked down, about 3 minutes. Add the squash, chickpeas, broth, lemon zest, and raisins and bring to a simmer. Cook, partially covered, until the squash is fork tender, about 25 minutes. Stir in the spinach and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes. Add the lemon juice and season, to taste.
• Meanwhile, make the couscous. Bring the broth to a boil with the salt and pepper in a small saucepan. Stir in the couscous, pull the saucepan off the heat, cover, and set aside until the water has been absorbed and the couscous is plump, about 5 minutes.
• Fluff the couscous with a fork and mound it in 4 soup bowls. Spoon some butternut squash stew over each portion, top with almonds, and serve.

Steps:

• Bring a large covered pot of heavily salted water to a boil.
• Meanwhile, in a 12-inch ovenproof skillet with high sides and a tight-fitting lid (or a Dutch oven), heat the oil over medium-high until shimmering. Add the squash and season with salt, cumin and red-pepper flakes. Cook, stirring every minute, until squash becomes browned in spots and feels just tender, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the oven to 400 degrees. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook, uncovered, until not quite al dente, 3 to 4 minutes less than the package instructions. (It should be a little too firm to the bite.) Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and drain. If the pasta is done before the squash, then stir in a drizzle of olive oil so that it doesn't stick together.
• When the squash is just tender, add the broth. Bring to an active simmer, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the squash is soft and easily mashable, 10 to 12 minutes. Turn off the heat, then use a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon to crush about half of the butternut squash and leave the rest chunky. Season the squash to taste, keeping in mind that salty Parmesan will be added soon.
• Add the cooked pasta to the skillet along with 1 cup reserved pasta water and 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, stirring vigorously to combine. Stir in the spinach one handful at a time until it shrinks down a little.
• Sprinkle the top with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan, the mozzarella and jalapeño, then place in the oven, on a sheet pan if you are worried about dripping. Cook until the top is melted and browned in spots, 12 to 15 minutes. Drizzle with olive oil, top with parsley and serve.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit/240 degrees Celsius (nonfan).
• Cut the butternut squash crosswise into 3/4-inch/1 1/2- to 2-centimeter-thick half moons. Transfer to a wide, large cast-iron skillet, skin side up, keeping the slices together in the shape of the butternut squash half. You might have to angle the pieces slightly so that they all fit. Place the shallots on either side of the squash.
• In a small bowl, combine oil, five-spice powder, cinnamon, 3/4 teaspoon salt and a good grind of pepper. Pour this all over the vegetables in the skillet, and use your hands to coat everything nicely, rearranging the squash pieces if necessary.
• Bake squash for 25 minutes, or until the squash is soft but not falling apart. Spoon out half the cooked shallots from the pan and set them aside, keeping them intact. Set squash aside to cool for 15 minutes, and turn the oven temperature down to 325 degrees Fahrenheit/170 degrees Celsius (nonfan).
• As the squash cools, prepare the custard: Add the stock and cream to a medium saucepan, and heat through on medium until steaming. In a separate large heatproof bowl, whisk together half the cheese, the yolks, garlic, cornstarch (cornflour), miso, 1/4 teaspoon salt and a good grind of pepper. Slowly pour the scalding cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly, until incorporated and smooth.
• When ready, pour the warm custard into the butternut squash skillet, letting it pool all around the squash (avoid pouring it directly onto the squash). Sprinkle the remaining half of the cheese all over the custard, avoiding the top of the squash. Lastly, gently place the reserved shallots, cut-side up, on top of the custard and cheese. Carefully transfer to the oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the custard is set with a very slight wobble.
• As custard cooks, prepare the topping: Add the sesame seeds to a small frying pan set over medium-high heat. Toast for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often, until lightly browned. Add the Aleppo pepper, paprika, five-spice powder and a tiny pinch of salt, and turn the heat down to medium-low. Add the oil and leave to cook gently for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes before stirring in the chives and lime juice.
• When ready to serve, spoon the sesame topping all over the custard and serve warm.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°. Unroll pie crust into a 9-in. pie plate; flute edge. Place eggs, squash, milks, sugar, salt and spices in a food processor; process until smooth. Pour into crust. Bake on a lower oven rack 10 minutes., Reduce oven setting to 350°. Bake 30-40 minutes longer or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack; serve or refrigerate within 2 hours. If desired, serve with whipped cream.