- 3
- 15 mins
- 50 mins
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed, flesh diced into 1/2-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon of dried)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
Step 1
If you have only one oven in your kitchen, any Thanksgiving side dishes you prepare generally need to be made on the stovetop, as the turkey is taking central stage in the oven. Here is a simple butternut squash side that you can easily do on the stove. The trick to this dish is browning the butter before adding the squash, so that the squash absorbs some of the complex and wonderful browned butter flavors, before it too is browned.
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Heat a large skillet on medium heat. Add the butter, whisking frequently. Continue to cook the butter. Once melted it will foam up a bit, then subside. Honey-colored browned milk solids will begin to form. The butter should have a wonderful nutty aroma. Remove from heat. Add the thyme, whisking continuously. If using fresh thyme, the mixture will foam up a bit.
(Note that it doesn't take much time to go from browned butter to burnt butter. You will want to remove the pan from the heat element and place it on a cool surface to help stop the cooking of the butter. If the butter burns, I recommend dumping it and starting over, something I've had to do on occasion when not paying close attention.)
Add the cubed butternut squash pieces to the pan and return the pan to the burner, heating to medium high. Use a wooden or metal spoon to stir the squash pieces so they are all well coated with the butter thyme mixture. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Spread the squash pieces out in an even layer and let cook, without stirring, so that they brown a bit on one side (several minutes). Stir and spread the pieces out again and let cook without stirring so more sides get browned.
Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan, and let cook until the squash is tender, 10 to 20 minutes, depending on how big you cut the pieces.
Add more salt and pepper to taste, sprinkle with a bit more chopped fresh thyme before serving.
Oh, man. Let me tell you that this is awesome. I also do this with sweet potatoes and add a little crispy bacon at the end. It is awesome over a spinach filled ravioli with a little goat cheese crumbled in, too. This is one of the most versatile recipes you’ll use. It can stuff pasta, chicken breast, and is great as a stand alone side dish. Try a little rosemary, too.
Even kids love this dish. You can make a lovely soup out of any leftovers with very little effort and a touch of chicken or turkey stock.
Just last week I roasted local organic butternut squash with sage in a brown butter balsamic sauce. Trick- add the vinegar off heat since it will bubble up.
Is there a good way to reheat this dish? I’d like to take it to a friend’s for Thanksgiving dinner.
Microwave? Haven’t tried reheating it, but it’s squash, and squash reheats well. ~Elise
I was just thinking of doing the same for my son and adding rosemary and garlic. This gives it a very good sweet nutty flavour, yum I have to make it now :-) I do the same with sweet potatoes and he enjoys that a great deal (he is only 3 & it is a good way to get the vegetables in him). Liked your post on how to chop them also, some great tips.
(1) Having a *sharp* vegetable peeler really makes your work a lot easier. And by “a lot easier” I mean “almost makes it effortless.” I used a dull, old fashioned peeler (the kind with the serrated edges) and it took forever.
(2) Watch the tenderness of the squash. My final product came out mushy because I didn’t test it until too late. I prefer firm yet tender squash. With my mistake, I should have just pureed it, added some chicken stock or cream and made a soup.
Re: reheating, I made this in the morning and took it to a friend’s for a potluck tonight. I reheated it there in the oven, and it was definitely a hit! I almost wish I’d browned the butter a little more, to get extra flavor, but it was my first time trying and I was deathly afraid of burning it. Next time.
It’s so good I’m planning to make it one of my rotating “go-to” fall dishes.
I’m not sure it was worth this extra effort, but to peel it I first boiled the whole squash for about 2-3 minutes and then transferred it to ice water. The peel was cooked soft, easy to remove with a veggie peeler. The meat was still hard, so little was wasted with the peeling.
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