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What is a butternut squash?

As you can see on the first picture above it is a pear shaped very light orange coloured squash, that usually weighs between 2 to 4 pounds. You can find it throughout autumn and winter seasons.

And below are some pictures of tiny butternut squashes that are growing in the garden throughout summer. As you can see, they are green when they are not ripe. They need a lot of space to grow so I haven’t been able to grow butternuts on my parisian balcony.

How to cook a butternut squash (2 different ways)?

First way : using a oven

This method is the easiest and quickest one. As I am someone who really doesn’t like to slave in my kitchen, this is my favorite one.

1. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C)
2. Rince out the butternut squash under cold water
3. Cut off the top end.
4. Using a very sharp knife cut the squash in two halves.
5. Using a spoon (as you can see on the second picture), remove the seeds. You can add a little bit of olive oil on the cut sides (personnally I rarely do it). Some people also add salt but as I use my cooked butternut squash in some desserts recipes I don’t do that.
6. Place the squash halves cut side down (as seen on the third picture) on a baking tray.
7. Bake for 40 minutes or until squash is tender. To check if the squash is cooked, prick a knife into it through the skin : it should be soft.

Second way : using a steamer

You can also choose to cook your butternut squash in a steamer.

1. Rince the squash under cold water
2. Cut it into cubes. For this, you can either remove the skin before cooking it, or after (it will come off very easily once the squash is cooked), or even just leave it and eat it. That is really up to you.
3. Put all the cubes in your steamer basket add the water according to the specific instructions of your steamer and let the squash cook for about 30 minutes or until squash is tender.

What can I do with a cooked butternut squash?

You can check out the following recipes (click on the recipe’s name to read it) :

• For a nice grain and cereal free breakfast : try the butternut bowl
• Butternut squash salad
• Butternut squash, chickpeas and feta salad
• For a delicious dessert : try the chocolate fondant