Tag: Butternut Squash

Soup Joumou (Haitian Beef and Squash Soup)

Happy New Year! There are a bunch of traditional dishes around the world to help usher in a new year. In past years, I’ve shared a Black Eyed Peas Hash, Black Eyed Peas with Collard Greens, and a bunch of recipe for what to do with the leftover champagne (assuming you have any), like this Champagne Risotto Primavera and these Honey Citrus Champagne Cupcakes.

Some traditional dishes eaten on New Year’s Day have less to do with the new year and more to do with a country’s history. So this year, I’m sharing my adaptation of an Independence Stew from Haiti. Celebrated every January 1, Haiti proclaimed independence from French colonials on New Year’s Day 1804 following a 13 year revolution. Soup Joumou, a comforting stew traditionally made with beef, pumpkin, pasta, and a bunch of veggies and spices, has become a New Year’s Day dish to commemorate Haiti’s independence.

I adapted this recipe from Epicurious, scaling it down quite a bit and swapping butternut squash for the pumpkin because I couldn’t find any pumpkin that wasn’t already pureed.

 

Ingredients:

Marinade:

  • 1/2 small onion, coarsely chopped
  • 1 bell pepper (any color), coarsely chopped
  • 1 scallion, coarsely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1/4 cup parsley leaves
  • 1 basil leaf
  • the juice of 1 lime
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon sweet paprika
  • 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

Remaining Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup plus 1/2 tablespoon distilled white vinegar, divided
  • 1 pound stew beef cubes
  • 7 cups chicken or beef broth, divided
  • 2 beef bones
  • 1 pound butternut squash, cut into cubes
  • 2 medium russet potatoes (about 1 pound), finely chopped
  • 1 large carrot, sliced
  • 1/4 small green cabbage (about 1/2 pound), very thinly sliced
  • 1/2 small onion, sliced
  • 1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped
  • 1 leek, white and pale-green parts only, finely chopped
  • 1 small turnip, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon habanero chile hot sauce, or to taste
  • 1 cup uncooked rigatoni
  • 3 whole cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 parsley sprig (optional)
  • 1 thyme sprig (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (omit to make dairy free)

Continue reading Soup Joumou (Haitian Beef and Squash Soup)

Slow Cooker Paleo Frittata Jars

Note: I was sent a copy of Slow Cooked Paleo by Bailey Fischer. Opinions are mine alone.

On weekends, I do my best to prepare some meals for the week. Typically, that means dinners, but every now and then I’ll bake muffins to have for breakfast. My husband is much more of a “savory” than a “sweet” breakfast eater, so he was thrilled when I was saw this recipe for Slow Cooker Paleo Frittata Jars in Bailey Fischer’s Slow Cooker Paleo Cookbook.

This cookbook is filled with awesome and easy slow cooker meals that are also Paleo, taking out much of the effort of maintaining a paleo diet. Some other delicious recipes include Coconut-Lime Poached Halibut, Simmering Hawaiian Fajitas, and Pumpkin-Maple Pudding.

The concept of these jars is brilliant and can easily be adapted to include whatever you want (perfect opportunity for a “fridge cleaning” breakfast).

Ingredients:

  • 2 2/3 cups thawed hash browns (~2/3 cup per jar)
  • 1 1/3 cups diced butternut squash (~1/3 cup per jar)
  • 1 1/3 cups diced green bell peppers (~1/3 cup per jar)
  • 12 eggs
  • 1/2 cup dairy-free milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 handful baby spinach leaves

Continue reading Slow Cooker Paleo Frittata Jars

Red Lentil and Butternut Squash Soup

It’s most certainly soup season!

My husband says he doesn’t like soup, but he honestly just doesn’t like thin broth soups, like traditional chicken noodle soup. So I’m always in search of soup recipes that are thicker based — not necessarily from cream. Pureed vegetable soups have become a favorite in my house!

This recipe from Saveur for Red Lentil and Butternut Squash Soup mentions that it originates from Palestine, but I haven’t been able to find a similar butternut squash and red lentil soup to confirm that. No matter where this recipe originally comes from, the result is a perfect colder weather soup- creamy, filling, with a little bit of heat!

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 medium carrots,  chopped
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 1 medium white onion, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red chile flakes
  • 1 pound peeled, seeded, and chopped butternut squash
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 6 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock to make vegetarian/vegan)
  • 1 cup red lentils
  • Paprika, for garnish
  • Lemon wedges, for serving

Continue reading Red Lentil and Butternut Squash Soup

Curried Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

I love how comforting a good bowl of soup can be in cold weather, plus soup recipes, including this recipe for Curried Butternut Squash and Apple Soup, are typically super easy to make!

I try to keep my freezer stocked with a bunch of different soups to enjoy on nights that I just don’t feel like cooking.

The use of curry in this Cooking Light recipe for Curried Butternut Squash and Apple Soup makes for a nice warm tasting soup.

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (or margarine to make dairy free)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 medium leek, chopped
  • 1 granny smith apple, peeled and chopped
  • 1 tablespoon Madras curry powder
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 2 lbs pre peeled, pre cut butternut squash
  • 4 cups unsalted chicken stock (or vegetable stock to make vegetarian)
  • 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • coconut milk, to taste
  • 1/2 cup julienne-cut granny smith apple

Continue reading Curried Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

Pumpkin Polenta with Fall Vegetables

I’m a huge pumpkin fan, and I don’t mean “pumpkin spice” when I say that (although I do love pumpkin spice things as well!)

I haven’t made a savory pumpkin dish for a while, so I was excited to try this recipe for Pumpkin Polenta with Fall Vegetables I found on the Food Network. I adapted it slightly, but for the most part kept it the same.

This recipe adds pumpkin puree to creamy polenta and then tops it with roasted butternut squash and Brussels sprouts, making for a perfect fall meal!

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered (about 4 cups)
  • 1 pound cubed peeled butternut squash (about 3 cups)
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 cup cornmeal
  • 1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin puree
  • 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (about 2 ounces), plus more for topping
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage, plus some leaves for garnish
  • the juice of 1 lemon, to taste

Continue reading Pumpkin Polenta with Fall Vegetables

Chunky Beef and Vegetable Chili

Note: I was sent a box of various Bob’s Red Mill products to make the below recipe. Opinions are mine alone.

This past weekend, a friend and I got together to stock our freezers. The fall is a super busy time of year for most, so we wanted to have a variety of meals ready to make some nights (and mornings) easier. We settled on eleven (11!) recipes, organized a shopping list split between the two of us, and set up prep work (chopping veggies for the most part) for the night before. The next morning, we met at my place and got to cooking!

Chili is a go-to freezer recipe. Not only does it freeze well, but it works great on its own, with cornbread, over polenta, as a “dip” with corn chips, with eggs for breakfast, etc. This recipe originally began as a vegetarian chili, but we had more ground beef leftover, so in it went!

I am a firm believer that dried beans make for a tastier dish than canned beans. There is some prep work needed, but it is very much worth it. I used Bob’s Red Mill Red Kidney Beans and Cannellini Beans for this recipe.

source: bobsredmill.com

We made a LOT of this chili, somewhere around 20 servings, so I’ve scaled it down for this post to make it more appropriate. Feel free to double if needed.

Note: I will share and link all of our recipes below. It was quite a successful cooking day!

Ingredients (makes 8-10 servings):

  • 12 oz dried Bob’s Red Mill Red Kidney Beans (~1/2 bag)
  • 12 oz dried Bob’s Red Mill Cannellini Beans (1/2 bag)
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1 1/2 cups cubed peeled butternut squash (in bite sized pieces)
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large red bell peppers
  • 4tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • 3 cups chicken broth
  • 1 (28 oz) can no-salt-added tomatoes, undrained
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • cilantro, chopped, for garnish

Continue reading Chunky Beef and Vegetable Chili

Winter Risotto with Farro and Arborio Rice

A couple of weeks ago, I was invited on a Chevy Farm-to-Table Road Trip, which was SO much fun! Chauffeured in snazzy Chevrolets, the group first went to Terrain in Glen Mills for lunch at their cafe and then went wine tasting down the road at Chaddsford Winery. (To read more about Terrain and Chaddsford Winery, visit my guest post over on Drive the District.)

All of the food was fantastic at Terrain, but I cannot stop thinking about their fabulous Farro and Arborio Risotto with sweet potato puree and autumn vegetables. So, naturally, I decided to try to make my own version! This recipe is pretty involved but it sure is worth it!

This recipe can be easily made vegan (noted below) and is vegetarian if vegetable stock is used instead of chicken stock. This recipe, however, is not gluten free because farro does contain some gluten. 

 

Ingredients:

Veggies:

  • 2 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
  • 1 cup halved Brussels sprouts
  • 3 Sweet potatoes, divided
  • 2 Shallots, halved
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
  • 1/4 teaspoon fresh chopped rosemary
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (or margarine to make vegan)

Risotto

  • 3 cups water
  • 1 cup uncooked farro
  • 6 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock to keep vegetarian)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large shallot, minced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2/3 cup Arborio rice
  • ½ cup white wine
  • 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese (omit for vegan version)
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Rosemary and thyme for garnish

Continue reading Winter Risotto with Farro and Arborio Rice

Butternut Squash Agnolotti with Toasted Hazelnut Cream Sauce

What is it about nuts that go so wonderfully with pumpkin and butternut squash dishes? Walnuts, pecans, and hazelnuts just pair so nicely with the flavors of squash. When I first received Buitoni’s Butternut Squash Agnolotti, I knew I wanted to make a hazelnut cream sauce with it. Hazelnuts, like most nuts, taste significantly better when toasted. I have no idea why this is, but I feel the need to always heat nuts for a little while to increase the flavor.
Ingredients:
  • 1 package of Buitoni’s Butternut Squash Agnolotti
  • 1/2 cup hazelnuts, blanched
  • 1 stick of butter
  • 1/4 cup sweet vermouth
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • a pinch each of ginger, allspice, and nutmeg (1/8 teaspoon or less)
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Sage leaves, for garnish

Continue reading Butternut Squash Agnolotti with Toasted Hazelnut Cream Sauce

Butternut Squash Agnolotti Pasta Salad with Walnuts, Golden Raisins, and Snow Peas

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you might have picked up on my obsession with pumpkin and butternut squash. I attempt to limit my gourd intake to the September and October months, but every now and then I still need my fix outside of those months. Butternut squash seems to be more socially acceptable, especially in pasta form. Buitoni’s Butternut Squash Agnolotti is the perfect way for me to have this delicious ingredient year-round.
Agnolotti is just a type of ravioli. This specific agnolotti is a “half-moon pasta filled with oven-roasted butternut squash, Impastata Ricotta, aged Parmesan and Grana Padano cheeses, accented with amoretti cookie crumbs.  I traditionally use a brown butter sage sauce with butternut squash ravioli because they are a perfect pair. I wanted to try something a little different with this agnolotti, so I instead made a cold pasta salad. It has been so unbearably hot in Philadelphia that I thought this would be a perfect (and timely) twist.Also, don’t forget to enter my giveaway to win a bunch of Buitoni goodies and free Buitoni pasta!
Ingredients:
  • 1 package of Buitoni’s Butternut Squash Agnolotti
  • ½ cup butter
  • 1 shallot, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves, roughly chopped
  • ½ cup walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
    A handful of golden raisins, or to taste
  • 1 cup snow peas
  • The juice of one lemon
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Continue reading Butternut Squash Agnolotti Pasta Salad with Walnuts, Golden Raisins, and Snow Peas

Healthy Butternut Squash Soup

My goodness, this week turned out to be so much more busy than I was expecting! I have really been slacking on posting. Luckily, Blog Content Guild contacted me about posting a delicious sounding Butternut Squash Soup, so I actually have something to share with you. Check out their recipe below!
Healthy Grocery List: Healthy Butternut Squash Soup
Ah, the holidays. A time for gift-wrapping, tree-decorating, and overindulgence. Instead of packing on the pounds this season, why not enjoy a healthy, seasonal meal instead? A seasonal ingredient like butternut squash is chock full of fiber, minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants and can be used to make a deliciously creamy soup (without the cream!). So, write down these ingredients on your healthy grocery list and brace yourself for a delectably guiltless holiday meal.
Ingredients
1 onion, peeled and quartered through the stem
1 3/4 butternut squash, halved and seeded
2 shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, caps wiped clean
1 garlic clove, peeled
1/2 cup olive oil
Course salt and freshly ground pepper
5 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium vegetable stock
1 teaspoon nutmeg
Step one
Preheat oven to 400-450 degrees. Cut butternut squash into about 2 inch pieces. Throw the squash, mushrooms, garlic, and onion on a baking sheet, adding oil and 2 teaspoons of salt. Coat veggies in oil, spread on a single layer, and roast until pumpkin is nice and tender (about 30 minutes). Toss veggies after about 15 minutes and pop them back in the oven until they’re cooked. Don’t forget to remove the skins after the veggies are cooled.
Step two
Transfer into a medium saucepan, heated over medium. Pour in 2 cups of stock and puree with immersion blender until smooth. Continue running the blender, adding remaining stock. The soup should have a smooth texture by the time you’re done pureeing. If you don’t have an immersion blender, try using a blender in batches, and then adding pureed veggies into saucepan. Bring soup to a simmer, remove from heat. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper. You can even add some chives, if you like.
This high-density soup will leave you feeling full and fulfilled, without the guilt. Just try to steer clear of pecan pie for dessert!

Jalapeno Ginger Butternut Squash Soup

When I first came across this recipe for Jalapeno Ginger Butternut Squash Soup, I was intrigued by the ingredients. Never would I have thought to add jalapenos and ginger to a butternut squash dish. It seemed so odd, and yet so delicious as well. This weekend, the weather began feeling a bit more… autumnal. So I used this wonderful weather as an excuse to try out this recipe. I altered the original recipe a bit, but you can find the original here.

 

Ingredients (makes about 8 servings):
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons grated ginger
1 jalapeño chile, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
4 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut into 2-in. cubes
3 cups water
3 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1/4 cup coconut milk, plus more for serving
I’ve attempted to peel and cube butternut squash in the past. And it is absolutely not worth it. It takes forever and never seems to yield as much as you think it will. So I wimped out at bought the pre-packaged pre-chopped stuff. And I am so happy I did. I ended up using 3 20 oz containers of the butternut squash.
Begin by chopping your garlic and jalapeno and grating your ginger.
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over high heat. Add the garlic, ginger and jalapeno and cook stirring constantly for 1 or 2 minutes.
Add the cayenne pepper and cook for another 30 seconds, stirring.
Add the squash, chicken broth, brown sugar, and 3 cups water.
Bring to a boil and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook for about 20 minutes or until the squash is fork tender.
Add about 1/3 of the soup to a blender. Remove the top middle piece of the blender top to allow hot air to escape. Place a paper towel over the opening and puree until smooth. Add to a large bowl. Repeat with remaining soup.

Be very very careful doing this! I managed to burn my hand pretty badly when removing the top off the blender. Ouch!

Stir in the coconut milk and serve. I added a tiny bit more of the coconut milk on top of a poured serving and swirled it.

This was a surprisingly tasty soup. The smooth texture is really nice and the butternut squash taste shines through, with a hint of coconut milk. There is a very slight heat at the end from the jalapeno and cayenne, but is definitely not spicy. I honestly couldn’t taste much of the ginger, so next time I might add a bit more. This soup can also be frozen so I look forward to enjoying it in the colder months, but it only took maybe 40 minutes from start to finish so this can easily be made on a weeknight.

Sauces for Ravioli

As much as I love cooking, sometimes I am just too exhausted at the end of the day to whip together a tasty meal. But why should my taste buds be punished?  So I always keep a few different types of ravioli in my freezer for a quick meal. Tomato sauce on meat or cheese ravioli is great, but I tend to lean towards mushroom, pumpkin, butternut squash, or spinach fillings.  So here is a short list of a few different sauces (besides tomato) that you can cook in the time it takes to cook the ravioli.

White Wine Sage Sauce
(great with mushroom ravioli)

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 clove minced garlic
1 tablespoon dried sage
1/2 cup white wine (whatever you have open, I have been using a Pinot Grigio recently)
Optional ingredients:
Truffle oil
Panko bread crumbs
Parmesan cheese (grated or shaved)
Note: This is for one serving, so multiply as needed!

To make, add the olive oil to a saute pan. Heat over medium-high heat, and add the garlic and sage. Let cook for one minute. Add the white wine, and turn the heat down to medium-low. Let simmer for a few minutes until it reduces. Remove from heat and pour over cooked ravioli. I really enjoy adding a little drizzle of truffle oil and then topping the ravioli off with panko and parmesan cheese. The truffle oil enhances the flavor of the ravioli and the panko adds a bit of a light crunch to the dish.
Brown Butter Sage Sauce
(great with pumpkin or butternut squash ravioli)
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
4 sage leaves
Lemon juice, to taste
Parmesan cheese, to taste
Note: This is for one serving, so multiply as needed!
To prepare, melt butter in a saute pan until a light brown color appears (about 3 minutes). Add the sage leaves and cook for one minute more (to help the leaves get a little crispy). Remove from heat and add a few drops of lemon juice. Add some Parmesan cheese and mix. Pour over the ravioli and serve.
Brown Butter Sage Sauce with Dried Cranberries
(great with pumpkin or butternut squash ravioli)
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon dried sage
1-2 teaspoons dried cranberries
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Note: This is for one serving, so multiply as needed!
To prepare, melt butter in a saute pan. Add the sage and dried cranberries and cook until a light brown color appears (about 3 minutes). Remove from heat. Add salt and pepper and mix. Pour over the ravioli and serve. Note: If you have walnuts, they would be fantastic in this dish, I just didn’t have any. Toast the walnuts in the oven at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. Add the walnuts to the melted butter when you add in the sage and dried cranberries.
Roasted Walnuts – more of a topping than a sauce
(great with cheese or spinach ravioli)
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove chopped garlic
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
Parmesan cheese (grated or shaved), to taste
Note: This is for one serving, so multiply as needed!
To prepare, heat the oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and walnuts and cook until the walnuts are slightly toasted, stirring frequently (about 5 minutes). Add lemon juice, salt, pepper, and parsley. Remove from heat and pour over ravioli. Top with the Parmesan cheese.

Moroccan Butternut Squash Soup

I love pumpkin… the word “obsessed” has been used many times to describe my affinity for this delicious gourd. Sadly, I had to choose a rather seasonal (unless its from a can) product, so I’ve really been trying to get my fix of pumpkin over the past few months. A good substitute for pumpkin in most dishes is butternut squash, which is a little easier to come by. Tonight for dinner, I decided to try to make a Moroccan Butternut Squash (or you can use pumpkin) soup. As with most of my base recipes, I went to myrecipes.com to see where to start. I tend to switch the recipes based on what I happen to have in my house already.

Ingredients:

  • 3 1/2 cups cubed peeled fresh pumpkin or butternut squash
  • 2 cups organic vegetable broth (I had chicken broth on hand)
  • 1 3/4 cups diced yellow onion (I used two medium sized onions)
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon Ras el Hanout (this is a mixture of a bunch of other spices that I mixed together, I’ll add that recipe below)
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 cup whole milk (I had heavy cream, so I changed it to a little more than a splash)
  • 1 tablespoon butter

Continue reading Moroccan Butternut Squash Soup

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