Neil Matthews, Sous Chef at River Cottage HQ, shows you how to make the most of butternut squash with three simple recipe ideas
GETTING STARTED
How to deseed a squash
The easiest way to get the seeds out of any squash or pumpkin is buy using a spoon and scooping them out. Once you have removed them, scrape away any remaining stringy bits too.
How to peel a squash
Cut the stalk off the top of the squash and then use a speed peeler to remove the skin.
THE RECIPES
All of the recipes use a base of diced roasted squash: cook the squash at 180°C, fan 160°C, gas mark 4 for 25 minutes. After that add some crushed garlic, fresh oregano leaves and a pinch of chilli flakes and cook for a further 10 minutes.
Creamy butternut squash soup
Sweat onions and garlic in a pan and then adds some potato to give the soup a silky texture. Once they have softened slightly put in the roasted butternut squash and vegetable stock - if you want to make your own have a look at Neil's home-made vegetable stock recipe. Once the potatoes are cooked through blend the soup, add some cream and serves with a twist of black pepper and some crusty bread.
Roasted butternut squash risotto
Neil serves his risotto in roasted squash halves for a little extra wow factor. To prepare the squash, cut it in half, scoop out the seeds and cut a criss-cross pattern into the flesh - try not to pierce the skin. Roast in a pre-heated oven drizzled with a little olive oil at 180°C, fan 160°C, gas mark 4 for around 45 minutes. For the risotto: sweat some shallots and garlic in a pan along with a pinch of salt, then add the rice and roasted squash. Once the rice is translucent pour in a glass of wine and allow it to reduce down. Once the rice has absorbed the wine, add hot vegetable stock a ladleful at a time until the rice is 'al dente' and the consistency is silky. Add a little butter and cheese to finish and allow to sit with the lid on for a couple of minutes before serving in the squash shells.
Roasted butternut squash and blue cheese salad
Mix crumbled blue cheese, English mustard, white wine vinegar, roasted squash, bacon and mixed salad leaves in a bowl. Then serve the salad with toasted sunflower seeds and edible flowers on top. Neil uses nasturtiums, borage, oregano flowers and corn flowers. If you can't find edible flowers try adding a few herbs and strong flavoured salad leaves instead, such as chives, coriander, rocket or watercress.
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