Roasted Butternut Squash Puree

Roasted Butternut Squash Puree

Versatile and delicious; this is a great recipe to have on hand.  You do need to set aside some time to roast the squash, but the puree will last for several days in the fridge.  It can be a lot of work to take the skin off an uncooked squash, so don’t bother.  Use a cleaver to split in in half and scoop it out after roasting.

Shown here, the puree is tossed with pappardelle noodles and topped with oyster mushrooms, bacon and shallots.  Cook down in a skillet to remove moisture and use it for ravioli filling.  Add chicken stock for a tasty soup.

 

Ingredients:

6-8 Servings

3 lbs butternut squash (2-3 individual squash)

1 lb white onion (1-2 onions)

6-8 garlic cloves

¼ cup finely chopped fresh sage

3 oz Chevre (goat cheese)

Up to ¼ c chicken stock

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450F.

Split the butternut squash and scoop out the seeds.  Cut the onion in half.  Place squash and onion on a baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes.  Add the garlic cloves for the last 10 minutes.  Smaller garlic cloves will cook much quicker, watch to make sure they do not burn.

After the squash, onion and garlic have slightly cooled (~5 minutes), scoop out the squash into a food processor with the onion, garlic and sage.  Blend until smooth.  You may need to add chicken stock at this step for a smoother puree.

Transfer to a mixing bowl and fold in the Chevre.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Cost:

Butternut Squash $5.97

Onions $1.99

Garlic $0.25

Sage $0.75

Chevre $4.50

Total: $13.46

Per Serving: $1.69

Watermelon Soup

Watermelon Soup

Another inspiration from Bolsa, this is a great refreshing soup for the spring and the summer.  We first saw a watermelon soup on the menu at Bolsa about a year ago, and it caught Brandon’s eye.  After that, we created our own version.  This is a quick, simple dish that can be put together on a weekday night.  Serves about 4.

Ingredients
¼ large watermelon
1/3 c Honey
1 lime, juiced
¼ lb pancetta, diced
4-5 mint leaves, thinly sliced
Pinch of salt

Directions

Juice the watermelon, making sure seeds are removed from juice.  Mix together with honey and lime juice.  Cook pancetta til crispy, drain fat and let cool to room temp.  Place cooked pancetta in the bottom of serving bowls, pour soup over and garnish with mint leaves.

Cost

Watermelon: $3
Lime: $0.20
Pancetta: $3.99
On hand (mint, honey): $0.50
Total: $7.69
Per Serving: $1.92