09 Nov 2024
Elena Hogg, founder of local culinary company FOOD by Elena, reveals her ever-changing recipe for stuffed butternut squash…
I write this amid a cacophony of fireworks; some in the distance, some decidedly nearby. Guy Fawkes’ legacy appears to span several days before and after the 5th of November, but far from being disturbed by the whooshing and crackling and banging, I find the sound reminiscent of chilly nights huddled around the bonfire as a girl, wrapped snugly in scarves and excitedly waving a sparkler.
This bout of nostalgia sets off a domino effect that ultimately leads to the kitchen and the need for some seriously autumnal food. My go-to ingredient in such instances is butternut squash. That’s right: butternut squash – NOT pumpkin.
Anyone who’s carved pumpkins with small children for Halloween isn’t ready to face them again so soon as fireworks night.
And possibly not again until next Halloween, frankly.
In any case, when it comes to eating, I far prefer butternut squash to pumpkin. It has a smoother, less fibrous texture and is, well, more buttery.
Aside from soup, to which butternut squash lends itself so well, the dish I make most often with this versatile gourd is probably curry in some guise or other.
Thai curry, for example, has a vibrant zing from lemongrass and ginger that is complemented perfectly by the sweetness of the squash. I’ve made Indian-inspired curries, too, with spices like cumin and coriander bringing out the more earthy notes of this vegetable.
I’ve even tried an amalgamation of the two, which turned out as a kind of pilaf in the end. I sweated my onions with garam masala, then added coconut milk with shredded lime leaves and allowed my squash to poach in it. I forgot, however, to put the lid on as I went off to do other things (like coaxing the children to do some piano practice or homework) and, by the time I got back, the coconut milk was hugely reduced and the whole thing had become quite dry.
Rather than rehydrating it with more coconut milk or stock, I decided to add my wholemeal basmati rice (I was clearly on some kind of fibre-quest) along with a good squeeze of lime juice and some fresh coriander leaf. The result was a coconutty, curried pilaf.
I’ve tried to recreate that exact dish several times, always with a different end product. There’s something about a culinary mistake that can never be repeated, even if you want to. If only it were the same with all things in life.
Another recipe that comes out differently every time is my stuffed butternut squash. This dish has enough wow factor to be a dinner party main, with its vibrant colours and flavours, but is simple enough to be a lazy weekend supper, too. As long as you are patient (or stuffed from lunch) enough to allow the squash a good roasting till its skin blisters in the oven, the rest is easy. And, helpfully, you can use up odds and ends in this dish with no fear of a faux pas.
Pop a pan of water on to boil and find a pack of opened grains you want to declutter. Might be rice, quinoa, buckwheat, barley – any grain will do. While it’s cooking, chop up the contents of whatever jars you have in the fridge: olives,
sundried tomatoes, anchovies, capers… you need a good handful or two per half-squash that you’re making. Or more, if you’re my mum, whose idea it was so many years ago to add this plethora of salty deli treats to just about any stuffed vegetable. Try it and you’ll see why.
Once the grain of choice is cooked – in my case, a mix of red, white and black quinoa in a fit of true St Albans pretension – you mix in your chopped deli bits, then add some cheese.
I have used feta before, but it’s a little too salty with all the capers and olives. Mozzarella or a mild cheddar, on the other hand, melts satisfyingly into the stuffing, acting as something of a binding agent.
I also added some lentils for protein and chopped nuts for a bit of crunch in what is otherwise a fairly soft dish. Pumpkin seeds would work too, as would croutons or dry-roasted chickpeas. No doubt you will come up with your own recipes guided by what lurks in your cupboards – always a foolproof way to add creativity to any dish.
And if you’re wondering what that strange film is that covers your fingers when you handle butternut squash, it’s a protective sap that this clever vegetable produces to heal itself if it gets wounded. Impressive, huh? I find that knowing this tempers my annoyance slightly as I set to scrubbing it off my skin.
