Healthy Side: Butternut Squash Purée with Ginger and Browned Butter
Jan 02, 2020, Updated Dec 09, 2020
Delicious and creamy – chock full of nutrients Simple to prepare, just 3 main ingredients! – plus salt & pepper and parsley.
Browned Butter – also called beurre noisette, named because it smells like hazelnuts and has a similar nutty color, plus a nutty, toasted flavor. It enhances the flavor of almost everything!
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pound butternut squash
- 1 teaspoon neutral oil*
- 1/4 teaspoon each: sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, preferably organic
- 4 teaspoons fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, cleaned, dried and chopped
Instructions
- Roasting Butternut Squash: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut the squash in half lengthwise. Add to a rimmed baking pan to fit. Rub cut side with oil, salt & pepper. Cook, cut side down for 45 minutes - or until the squash feels softened, and the cut side has achieved a golden color.
- In the meantime, make Browned Butter with Ginger: Heat the butter in a small skillet (I use a 6"enamel coated cast iron one) over LOW heat. Leave until light brown bits form (from the butter's milk solids.) The butter will splatter a bit, and take up to 5 minutes to achieve brown butter. Remove from heat - after one minute add the ginger, stir in. Set aside.
- Finish the Purée: Remove the squash from the oven. Set aside for 5 minutes, or until easy enough to handle. Scoop out the flesh of the squash, leaving the skin behind.
- Add to a food processor and purée until smooth. (this can be done as well in a 4 cup small food processor in 2 batches.) Add the browned butter with ginger, pulse in.
- Done! taste for seasonings - add a pinch more salt & pepper if desired, can add just a pinch of cayenne pepper too.
- Serve on individual plates or in a serving bowl. Top with chopped parsley.
Want to make it 100% plant based? Use Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Organic Coconut Oil instead of butter.
* with concerns about gmo’s and processing of oils, use a vegetable oil which has not been chemically treated, this is called “expeller pressed.”
This recipe may not be reproduced without the consent of its author, Karen Sheer
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