Butternut Squash, Part III

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So, the final bit of the butternut squash might have been the most delicious. I had decided to make a butternut squash curry from the last squash half from this post. 

The bad part was the rice. I used one of those 90 second rice pouches. It was kind of hard and I couldn’t massage it apart like the package says to do before you microwave it. I thought I would just break it apart after it cooked. Oh, no. After it cooked it was welded together for life. We tried to eat it and it was really awful. So, note to self, if you can’t feel it separating through the package, don’t use it! In fact, I found a second package in the pantry with the same problem. It was the same brand and they were in date. Tossed it, anyway! Maybe they had been temperature abused in the store, but something was definitely wrong.

Even with the rice kerfuffle, the curry was very easy and really good. I added a few extra veggies, especially a root vegetable. I think this helps curb the heat in a curry, but you could also leave them out. 

I started with my squash already roasted, so I cooked the other veggies a while before I added the squash. I think it would be even better if you cooked the squash in the curry sauce. 

This calls for curry paste and curry powder. I prefer the kind of curry paste that comes in a little plastic tub. There are several brands, but everything is written in multiple languages. You may need to visit your Asian market for this, but some larger supermarkets do carry it.  The curry powder is more widely available. I usually buy my spices from Penzey’s  and they have several curry powder options. You probably won’t find much choice at a standard grocery store, but if you do I would go with the sweet curry to curb the heat. 

Here's the recipe:

Butternut Squash Curry

Yield: 4 servings

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

1 tbsp oil

2 med shallots, diced

6 clvs garlic, minced

1 tbsp ginger root, minced

1 med butternut, peeled, seeded and cubed (about 2 cups of cubes)

1 cup small mushrooms, halved

1 cup cubed root vegetable (carrot, radish, potato, turnip, rutabaga, etc)

¼ cup red curry paste

2 tsp sweet curry powder

¾ cup vegetable broth

2 tsp fish sauce

2 tsp sugar

4 cups fresh spinach

1 cup coconut milk

2 tbsp lime juice

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add shallots, garlic and ginger. Sauté until the shallots begins to brown slightly. 

Add the squash, other vegetables (except the spinach), broth, fish sauce and ginger. Sauté all this together until the squash and root vegetables are tender. This could be 30-45 minutes. 

When everything is cooked, turn the heat down and add the spinach, coconut milk, and lime juice. Simmer for 10 more minutes. Taste and adjust as needed using salt, pepper, sugar and lime. 

Serve over rice and sprinkle peanuts or sesame seeds (or both) across the top. 


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