3 Ways of Roasting Butternut Squash

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Butternut squash seem to be available most of the time but they are at their best now.  I love them and always keep one by me in case of emergencies.

Squash are particularly delicious roasted which brings out all their lovely caramelly sweetness so with no preamble (apart from the above and you are past that now!) here are 3 recipes to use this delicious fruit (yep, fruit).

Butternut Squash & Roasted Garlic Soup

This, the easiest way to roast butternut squash, is ideal when making soup.  

The recipe makes more roasted garlic than needed;  mash the leftover cloves with the oil and freeze in ice cubes – this makes a great addition to all sorts of dishes and is soft enough to use straight from the freezer.

1 medium butternut squash 
1 medium onion

1 medium sized floury potato
vegetable stock

3 cloves of roasted garlic, or to taste

salt & pepper

~   Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/180ºC fan/gas 6.

~   Cut the squash in half lengthways, scoop out the seeds and place the butternut cut sides down in an oiled roasting pan.  Roast alongside the garlic for about 40 minutes till it is utterly tender and the skin is staring to bubble and go brown.

~   Whilst these are cooking make the rest of the soup.  Peel and halve the onion and slice thinly into half moons.  Toss together with the other tablespoon of olive till in a saucepan over medium heat till hot. Turn the heat down to low, completely cover the onions with a piece of foil pressed directly onto the surface put a lid on the pot and cook gently till utterly tender – 15-20 minutes.

~   Peel and thinly slice the potato and add to the onions together with the tender roasted butternut flesh (discard the skin – although you can eat the skin too if you like) and add enough stock to just cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, cover and simmer till the potato is tender.

~   Add 3 cloves of roasted garlic or to taste and purée everything together till beautifully smooth.

~   Dilute as needed with a little hot stock or perhaps add some cream, although it is perfectly delicious without, but keep it fairly thick and unctuous.

~   Taste and season – a little crunchy sea salt sprinkled on top is a definite advantage. 

This soup is just one of a great many that can be made using my genius soup recipe which I have written about at length in my book; Soup: (almost) the Only Recipe You'll Ever Need!

Roasted Butternut Wedges

This way of roasting squash is almost as easy as above and makes a great side dish.

1 medium sized butternut squash

2 tbsp olive oil

a small bunch of thyme

salt and pepper

~   Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/180ºC fan/gas 6.

~   Cut the squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and cut the squash into wedges.

~   Heat the olive oil in a roasting pan and toss in the wedges to coat.

~   Season to taste with salt, pepper to taste and sprinkle over coarsely chopped fresh thyme.

~   Roast for about 40 minutes till golden and tender.

Roasted Butternut Squash with Sweet Onion and Chilli

For this the squash needs a little more work but it’s worth it.  This is a wonderful flavour combination; lovely as a side dish, tossed with pasta or as a pizza topping.

1 medium butternut squash

1 medium red onion

2 tbsp olive oil

chilli flakes to taste (optional, maybe black pepper instead)

sea salt

~   Preheat the oven to 400F/ 200˚C/gas 6.

~   Peel the squash, cut in half, discard the seeds and cut the flesh into large dice – about 25mm/1 inch.

~   Peel the onion and cut into slivers.

~   Toss the squash and onion together with the olive oil, chilli flakes and sea salt.

~   Spread in a shallow layer in a roasting pan and cook for 30 minutes till completely tender and the onion is just starting to char.  

~   Stir occasionally during cooking and if any onions slivers seem to be getting overcooked before the squash is ready set them aside and stir back in at the end.

In Other News ...

I recently saw Cock Flavour Soup for sale. I remember this from my days in the Caribbean, it was quite popular.  

I sent some to my sister for her birthday, she’s a very busy girl with her Cake Hole  and also their Art Cafés in Colchester and Mersea Island so this might help her out. Read about The Cake Hole and Art Cafés here.