Butternut Squash Souffle
This recipe is just like so many others available. It’s very similar to the Carrot Puff recipe I made so many times years ago. That recipe was from one of my Southern Living Annual Recipes cookbooks (that I can’t find since the move).
If you know me very well, you know that I HATE squash. I’ll have you know that Butternut Squash is quite different than nasy, slimy yellow squash, so it’s OK to eat it. You have to wrestle it to the ground first, though. It’s very hard to cut when it’s raw, so you may consider simply halving it and roasting it first. I only needed a very small squash this week, and it seemed rather tender, so I cubed it before roasting it. In any case, you need about 2 cups of roasted butternut squash. I’ll give the directions for the “cubed first” version.
Peel a smallish butternut squash, halve it, scrape out the pulp and seeds (as you would a pumpkin), then cut it into medium-sized cubes. Try to get them relatively even in size, to promote equal cooking. Toss them with olive oil, salt, and pepper, then spread them on a cookie sheet lined with foil. Bake for about 30 minutes at 375. Test for doneness (they should feel like a baked potato or sweet potato). Continue baking as needed. Remove from the oven. Increase heat in the oven to 400.
In the meantime, simmer about 1 cup of carrots in water so they’re done about the same time.
In a blender or food processor, process butternut squash, carrots, and a stick of melted butter. Season with salt and pepper to taste, plus 1/2 tsp nutmeg and about 1/4 cup white or brown sugar. Don’t overdo the sugar!
After the veggies are pureed, add 4 eggs, one at a time. I had to start adding eggs before the veggies were completely pureed because they were so thick. If the veggies are still quite hot, consider tempering the eggs with a bit of the veg mixture before adding them, to prevent scrambling.
Pour the souffle mixture into a greased casserole dish (preferably a round one) and bake for 40 minutes or until set.
March 31, 2009 at 7:58 pm |
Made this Sunday with butternut squash, sweet potatoes, and leeks. Roasted them all together, then finished out the recipe as above. Turned out very well. It had just a hint of bitterness from the char on the leeks that balanced out the sweetness of the sweet potatoes nicely.