Twice Baked Roasted Butternut Squash Puree With Parmesan And Sage Food

TWICE-BAKED BUTTERNUT SQUASH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Put the squash and potatoes on a baking sheet. Brush the squash with half of the oil and toss the sweet potatoes with the other half, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Turn the squash and sweet potatoes flesh-side down on the baking sheet and poke the skin of the squash all over with a fork. Roast until the squash flesh is very soft and golden brown and the potatoes are cooked through when poked with a knife, 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes.
• Turn the oven to broil. Scoop out the flesh of the sweet potatoes and put it in a bowl (discard the skins). Scoop the flesh out of the squash, leaving a 1/2-inch border of flesh around the edges, and add it to the bowl along with the heavy cream, butter, 2 teaspoons salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Mash with a potato masher until it is smooth, creamy and resembles mashed potatoes. Put the squash skins back on the baking sheet and divide the filling evenly between the cavities. Top with the goat cheese, then broil until the cheese is bubbly and just beginning to turn brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle the scallions and pepitas over tops before serving.

TWICE-BAKED BUTTERNUT SQUASH WITH PARMESAN CREAM AND CANDIED BACON

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut both squash in half lengthwise; scoop out seeds. Transfer cut side down to a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Poke outside of skin all over with a fork, then roast until flesh is very soft, about 1 1/2 hours for large squash and about 1 hour for medium squash.
• Meanwhile, heat 1 cup cream in a medium pot over medium until just beginning to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and whisk in 1/4 cup cheese and cook, whisking, until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer to a medium bowl and chill until very cold, about 45 minutes (do not freeze).
• Cook bacon in a medium skillet over medium heat, turning occasionally, until crisp, 8-10 minutes. Transfer to paper towels, reserving bacon fat in skillet. Let cool, then finely chop.
• Spread 3 Tbsp. sugar in a thin layer in the center of a medium dry skillet. Cook over medium heat, mostly undisturbed (it's ok to swirl pan gently to get sugar to melt evenly), until sugar melts and starts to turn light brown, about 6 minutes. Quickly stir in bacon and hazelnuts and cook, stirring, until coated and melted sugar is chestnut brown, about 1 minute more. Scrape onto a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and spread out to cool, then finely chop.
• Reduce oven temperature to 375°F. Using a spoon, scoop flesh out of large squash into a large bowl, leaving a 1/2" border around squash shell to help maintain its shape. Transfer large shells to a rimmed baking sheet; arrange a few pieces of crumpled foil around shells to keep them upright. Scoop flesh out of medium shells into same bowl (you should have 6 cups squash); discard medium shells. Using a potato masher or spatula, mix in salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1 Tbsp. reserved bacon fat, and remaining 1 cup cream, 3/4 cup cheese, and 1 Tbsp. sugar until smooth. Fold in 2 Tbsp. chives. Divide filling between large squash shells, then create attractive swoops with a spoon. Bake squash until warmed through, 20-30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed or a whisk, whip chilled cream to medium peaks. Chill until ready to use.
• Dollop squash with whipped cream, then top with candied bacon bits and remaining 1 Tbsp. chives. Serve extra candied hazelnut-bacon bits on the side.
• Do Ahead
• Squash shells can be filled (not baked) 2 days ahead; cover and chill.

CREAMY BUTTERNUT SQUASH PASTA WITH SAGE AND WALNUTS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the squash and garlic on a sheet pan. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Toss well and roast until the squash is very tender, 30 to 35 minutes, tossing twice throughout. While the squash roasts, bring a large pot of water to boil.
• Meanwhile, in a large (12-inch) skillet, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium. When the oil is hot, add the sage and cook, tossing often, until the leaves begin to crisp, about 1 minute. Add the walnuts and a generous sprinkle of salt and cook, tossing often, until the sage leaves are lightly browned and crisp, 1 to 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sage and nuts to a paper towel-lined plate and wipe out the skillet. Let the mixture drain for 1 minute, then add it to a small bowl with the lemon zest; toss lightly and set aside.
• Working in batches if necessary, transfer the roasted squash and garlic to a blender or food processor, along with 1 cup stock, and blend until smooth and thick. The consistency should be somewhere between a purée and a thick soup. Add more stock as needed, if it seems too thick.
• Transfer the puréed squash to the reserved skillet and keep warm over very low heat. Meanwhile, add the pasta to the boiling water, along with 1 tablespoon salt, and cook until al dente. Just before draining, ladle 1/2 cup pasta water into a measuring cup and set aside.
• Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce. Toss to coat the pasta evenly, then, off the heat, add the 1/2 cup Parmesan and toss until the cheese is incorporated. Add a few tablespoons of the reserved pasta water if the sauce seems too thick. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Divide the pasta among shallow bowls and sprinkle the sage, walnut and lemon zest mixture on top, and serve with extra Parmesan on the side.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH FLAN WITH PARMESAN SAGE SAUCE

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F.
• Roast squash, cut sides down, in a lightly oiled shallow baking pan until neck is tender, about 1 hour. Remove from oven and reduce oven temperature to 325°F. Cool squash to warm.
• Butter an 8- by 2-inch round cake pan. Line bottom with a round of parchment or wax paper and butter paper.
• Scoop flesh from squash, discarding skin, and purée in a food processor until smooth, about 45 seconds. Put 2 cups purée in a bowl, then whisk in whole eggs, 1 cup half-and-half, 2 tablespoons cheese, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper until combined.
• Pour squash mixture into cake pan and bake in a water bath until just set and a wooden pick or skewer comes out almost clean, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from water bath and cool flan in pan on a rack 15 minutes. Invert a flat plate over flan, then invert flan onto plate and carefully remove parchment.
• Meanwhile, bring whole sage leaves and remaining cup half-and-half just to a simmer in a 1- to 2-quart heavy saucepan, then remove from heat and let steep, covered, 10 minutes.
• Remove sage, carefully squeezing leaves to extract liquid, and discard leaves.
• Whisk yolks into half-and-half and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until sauce is thick enough to coat back of spoon and registers 170 to 175°F on thermometer, about 4 minutes (do not let boil).
• Immediately pour sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, then add remaining 1/2 cup cheese and chopped sage, stirring until cheese is melted. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
• Cut flan into wedges with a thin knife, wiping knife clean after each slice. Serve flan with sauce.