Help me make butternut squash edible to me

[rachelmanija]

I have two butternut squashes (hard-skinned yellow squash), delivered to me as an emergency substitution for something I actually like. I can't return them because coronavirus, I don't generally like squash, and my neighbors don't want them.

My exception to the squash hate is when it's a savory dish that tones down the sweetness. The only time I've ever liked pumpkin was a savory dish I had at a banquet in Taipei with, I think, dried shrimp. Please suggest to me a savory dish, ideally some kind of Asian, which I can make with this squash.


I do not have dried shrimp, but I do have fish sauce and furikake. I don't have pureeing equipment.

Comments

[thomasyan]

Have they already been skinned? I've never had to, and would be reluctant. The outside of those suckers is really hard, and I'd be afraid of doing something stupid and cutting myself.

If skinned, then slice thin, coat in oil and seasoning, and roast. Then use in a pasta dish with flavors that offset the sweetness, such as sundried tomatoes.

If not skinned, first figure out how to safely skin and split each.

[naomikritzer]

Butternut squash is pretty easy to peel with a vegetable peeler, in my experience. (You can't do this with most squashes because the exterior peel is too textured; butternut is the exception.)

[thomasyan]

Oh cool, did not realize that. Thanks for the correction. I obviously leapt to the wrong conclusion from The peeled ones in grocery stores looking like they came off a lathe.

I should try to look up a galette recipe. At our wedding reception we wanted a vegetarian option, and I wanted a taste of everything. All entrees, appetizers, and sides were tasty. The butternut squash galette, however, was by far best entree.

[naomikritzer]

Okay, I went and looked up a squash galette and this looks outstanding and we may even have enough of the ingredients on hand that I could make it:

https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/recipe/butternut-squash-galette-smitten-kitchen

[naomikritzer]

Update: I made the Smitten Kitten recipe this evening with the following modifications:

* I made two smaller galettes rather than one enormous one.
* I doubled the onions for the caramelized onions because it's almost impossible to have too many caramelized onions and we had a bag of red onions that were starting to look a little questionable.
* I used only one somewhat runty butternut squash.
* I had no fresh thyme, so I used dried.
* I used 3/4 c butter in the crust and also I substituted corn meal for the whole wheat flour.
* I had no fontine cheese but I did have a bag of Crystal Farms finely shredded Italian cheese (which is mozzarella, parmesan, asiago, and provolone).
* I skipped the egg wash.

It was DELICIOUS. Everyone in the family really, really liked it.

[thomasyan]

Awesome! I had immediately bookmarked the recipe, and now have additional incentive to try it out in the near future.

[naomikritzer]

I should probably note that my other alteration was that I ignored their instructions for caramelizing the onions, since -- like almost all recipe writers -- they are unrealistic about how long it will take.

I started the onions FIRST. While they were caramelizing, I peeled and cubed the squash and got that in the oven, then made the dough. Then I cleaned up from the vegetable chopping. Then I unloaded the dishwasher. Then I took the squash out. Then I read Twitter for a while. The onions were done about an hour after I started them going. I use this recipe for caramelizing onions: https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_caramelize_onions/ but really the main thing is that it takes A REALLY LONG TIME and YOU CANNOT HURRY THE PROCESS (much) so just start them way before it is time for the galette to go in the oven.

[carbonel]

I'm planning on making another batch of cream of vegetable soup soon. It consists of chicken stock, potato, onion, and assorted cut-up veggies, plus some minced garlic and other spices. Once it's all cooked, I use the stick blender to blend it, and add milk or cream, and serve over cubed cheddar cheese.

I'm now wondering if caramelizing a couple of onions instead of just the usual boiling until soft would improve the soup enough to be worth the time.

[naomikritzer]

I don't know how significant a flavor they would be in the soup because there's a lot of other stuff going on there. But caramelized onions are really good, and there are dishes where they're absolutely indispensable and definitely need to be caramelized (like the galette.)

[thistleingrey]

To skin a recalcitrant winter squash (they're harder to do when a bit underripe), put half in a microwave for 30-45 seconds, then try again. I use a knife, and it's been fine.

[vass]

Why would you need to skin them? The skin softens while cooking, and is edible.