Should You Roast or Boil Butternut Squash Before Mashing?
Honestly, either would work, but here are some reasons that I prefer roasting my butternut squash instead boiling it. It’s much easier than peeling and chopping (I literally hate peeling and chopping butternut squash), you get a nice flavor from oven roasting, and you’re not boiling all of the nutrients out of your squash and pouring them down the drain.
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Step-by-Step Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400°F/205°C/Gas Mark 6).
Cut ends off of squash (this is optional, it just makes it more stable when you stand the squash up).
Cut it vertically in half and scoop out the seeds with a spoon.
Drizzle each with olive oil and season cut side with salt and pepper.
Place cut side down on a parchment lined sheet pan and roast for 40 minutes or until fork tender.
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Make the Sage Brown Butter Sauce
Make either just enough for this recipe or make more so you can multiply this recipe or have some sage brown butter for other recipes. You can store it in the refrigerator for a few months.
Sage Brown Butter – Full Batch: Melt one stick of unsalted butter in a small skillet on medium/low heat.
The butter will pop and spatter until the water has evaporated (2-3 minutes).
Once the popping and spattering have stopped, add 16 fresh sage leaves, turn heat up to medium/high and stir with a rubber spatula, until milk fat bits on the bottom turn an amber color. Keep an eye on it and stir it constantly. Do not walk away! It can go from a beautiful amber nutty flavor to black and burned in no time.
Sage Brown Butter – Partial Batch: (Two Tablespoons): Follow the recipe above for full batch of sage brown butter, except only use two tablespoons of unsalted butter and four sage leaves. I recommend making the full batch and store it in the refrigerator for future use since you’re spending about the same about of time.
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Put it together
Scoop out the flesh with a spoon, (leaving the outer skin behind) and place squash in a bowl along with salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons of sage brown butter *see notes below.
Mix with hand or stand mixer until smooth. Serve immediately or cover and keep warm.
Complete meal suggestion for small holiday gathering
Lamb Chops & Pomegranate Wine Sauce and Easy & Healthy Asparagus
Butternut Squash Mash with Sage Brown Butter
Ingredients
- 2 Pounds Butternut Squash about 1 large squash
- 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 Tablespoons Sage Brown Butter see recipe notes below
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F/205°C/Gas Mark 6). Cut ends off of squash (this is optional, it just makes it more stable when you stand the squash up). Cut it vertically in half and scoop out seed with a spoon. Drizzle each with olive oil and season cut side with salt and pepper. Place cut side down on a parchment lined sheet pan and roast for 40 minutes or until fork tender. Scoop out the flesh with a spoon, (leaving the outer skin behind) and place squash in a bowl along with salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons of sage brown butter *see notes below. Mix with hand or stand mixer until smooth. Serve immediately or cover and keep warm.
Notes
Make your sage brown butter while the squash is roasting.
Sage Brown Butter – Full Batch: Melt one stick of unsalted butter in a small skillet on medium/low heat. The butter will pop and spatter until the water has evaporated (2-3 minutes). Once the popping and spattering have stopped, add 16 fresh sage leaves, turn heat up to medium/high and stir with a rubber spatula, until milk fat bits on the bottom turn an amber color. Keep an eye on it and stir it constantly. Do not walk away! It can go from a beautiful amber nutty flavor to black and burned in no time.
Sage Brown Butter – Partial Batch (Two Tablespoons): Follow the recipe above except only use two tablespoons of unsalted butter and four sage leaves. I recommend making the full batch and store it in the refrigerator for future use since you’re spending about the same about of time
