Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies

Butternut recipes

Recipe by Grant Cullingworth, executive chef at Table Bay Hotel, Cape Town, South Africa.

1 butternut squash (about 11/2 pounds), cleaned, peeled and diced

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons honey

4 tablespoons butter

1 ripe banana, unpeeled

1/2 onion, chopped

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seeds

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup coconut milk

1 cup chicken stock (use vegetable stock for a vegetarian soup), plus extra for adjusting thickness

Fresh cilantro leaves

Juice of 1 lime, to taste

Salt and pepper, to taste

For the garnish

Fresh cilantro, pumpkin seeds, and pumpkin seed oil (or truffle oil or hazelnut oil, if desired), bruschetta

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sprinkle diced squash with brown sugar, honey and 2 tablespoons butter and roast in a 350-degree oven until caramelized and soft to the touch, about 20 minutes; roast the unpeeled banana in the oven at the same time.

Melt the other 2 tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan on medium heat, and sweat the onion, celery and carrot for a few minutes until tender.

Add the garlic, curry powder, coriander, nutmeg and cinnamon, and cook slowly for a few more minutes.

Remove the banana from its skin, slice and add it with the butternut to the pan, along with the coconut milk and chicken broth. Simmer until hot. Blend the soup in a blender until smooth. Adjust to consistency desired with more broth, if necessary.

Add fresh cilantro, lime juice and salt and pepper to taste. Blend again until smooth and pass the soup through a chinois or household strainer. (The strainer should not be too fine or you will lose the body of the soup.)

Serve hot (reheat if necessary).

Pour soup into bowls and garnish with a drizzle of pumpkin seed oil, a few toasted pumpkin seeds and a sprig of fresh cilantro.

If desired, serve with a slice of bruschetta.

Makes six small first-course servings.

For the cranberry puree:

12-ounce bag of cranberries (about 3 cups), picked over

1 cup ruby Port

1/2 cup sugar

For the soup:

1 large onion, chopped

2 carrots, sliced thin

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter

3/4 teaspoon ground mace

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon white pepper plus additional to taste

3 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces

2 sweet potatoes (about 11/4 pounds), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

6 cups chicken broth

To make the cranberry puree: In a heavy saucepan combine the cranberries, the Port and the sugar and simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 7 to 10 minutes, or until the cranberries burst and the mixture starts to thicken.

In a food processor puree the mixture and force the puree through a fine sieve into a bowl, discarding the solids.

The puree keeps, covered and chilled, for three days.

To make the soup: In a large heavy saucepan cook the onion and the carrots in the butter over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened, add mace, ginger, 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper, squash, sweet potatoes and 4 cups of the broth, and simmer the mixture, covered, for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are very soft.

In a blender or food processor puree the soup in batches, transferring it as it is pureed to a saucepan, and stir in the remaining 2 cups broth, the additional white pepper, and salt to taste.

The soup keeps, covered and chilled, for one day.

To serve the soup: Reheat the cranberry puree and spoon it into a pastry bag fitted with a small plain tip.

(Alternatively, spoon the puree into a small resealable plastic bag and cut off the tip of one corner.)

Reheat the soup, divide it among soup bowls, and pipe about 1 tablespoon of the cranberry puree decoratively onto each serving.

Makes about 12 cups, 8 to 12 servings.

Food Network recipe courtesy of Sara Moulton.