Butternut Squash With Walnuts And Vanilla Food

BUTTERNUT SQUASH WITH WALNUTS AND VANILLA

Steps:

• 1a If roasting Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat the cubed squash with a little vegetable oil and spread out onto a baking tray. Sprinkle with salt and roast until the cubes begin to brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven. 1b If boiling Put 4 cups of water into a medium-sized pot and add the bay leaves. Bring to a simmer. Add the squash to the pot. Boil, covered for 10 minutes. Drain. 2 Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and toast the walnuts. Stir frequently or they will burn. Once they they start to brown, and you can smell the aroma of toasted walnuts, remove from heat. 3 Melt the butter in the pan with the walnuts over medium-high heat. Toss the walnuts to coat with butter, then add the squash. Toss them to coat with butter. 4 Add the grated ginger, vanilla extract, black pepper, a little salt and dried thyme and toss once more. Turn off the heat and squeeze some lemon juice over everything. Taste for salt and lemon and add more to taste. If you want this to be a bit more luxurious, mix in another tablespoon of butter or two before serving. Serves 4.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH WITH WALNUTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Place squash, cut side down, in 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Pour water over squash. Bake until skin on squash is blistered and brown and flesh is tender, about 1 hour 15 minutes.
• Turn squash cut side up. Cool slightly. Scoop out flesh and transfer to medium bowl, leaving 1/3-inch-thick shell. Mash flesh. Add butter and stir until melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon squash back into shells. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm in 350°F oven until heated through, about 30 minutes.) Sprinkle squash with chopped walnuts and serve.