savoury delights

butternut mash – savory with cheese or sweet & spicy

by beyond my kitchen
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My favorites for working with pumpkin are still hokkaido and butternut. Especially for a creamy result, like soft mashed potatoes, butternut is the best choice.

Above there is a butternut mash with red onions, bacon & goat cheese. Below there is another butternut mash, the sweet & spicy version with Asian flavors & ham & shrimps.

Any butternut mash you serve like mashed potatoes together with meat or fish … or other vegetables, however, you may also rely on butternut mash as a basis for a oven baked casserole …

Let’s start with the savory version and have a look at the ingredients.

The sweet & spicy butternut mash needs some more ingredients …

In any case we always start with a nice butternut … & don’t forget to preheat your oven to 190° C fan.

Processing the butternut means:

  • cut the butternut into halves
  • discard any pits & mush
  • rub some olive oil (or flavorless oil like peanut oil) over the butternut halves
  • put it in the preheated oven.

I started w/ 30 min for the oven session, because I had a rather small butternut, made the famous test w/ the wooden stick & added another 10 min. I like my butternut pulp really, really soft! (So soft that you won’t need any handheld blender later …)

If the butternut has cooled for 2-3 min after the oven session grab a spoon & scrape the butternut pulp into a bowl.

For the savory mash we need:

  • a spicy red onion
  • some thinly sliced bacon
  • some goat cheese (the cream cheese version!)
  • some Greek yoghurt.

For the sweet & spicy mash there are:

  • spring onions
  • fresh ginger
  • fresh garlic
  • ham
  • shrimps
  • cream
  • spices like cumin, coriander, curcuma, cardamom, chili – all of the ground type.

Concerning garlic & chili it depends on you how much of each you like.

Next step after having rescued the butternut pulp: we add the Greek yoghurt mixed w/ the creamy goat cheese resp. the cream (mixed w/ the Asian spices) & mix.

During the oven session of the butternut I chopped the vegetables & the bacon resp. the vegetables & the ham & the shrimps. All ingredients march in a pan for a frying session of about 10-15 min. It’s a careful frying because nothing shall get burnt.

The fried mess is added to the butternut mash – ready. (Maybe add some salt & pepper to taste …)

Enjoy!

Print Recipe
butternut mash – savory with cheese or sweet & spicy
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time50 minutes
ingredients:
for the butternut:
  • 1 butternut (about 1000 – 1500 g before trimming)
  • a splash of olive oil or flavorless oil like peanut oil or dark sesame oil
for the savory mash:
  • 1 red onion  (about 200 g)
  • 40 g bacon (thinly sliced)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 60 g goat cheese  (the cream cheese type)
  • 100 g Greek yoghurt
  • pepper & salt (to taste)
for the sweet & spicy mash:
  • 50 g ham
  • 50 g shrimps (fresh or frozen)
  • 5 spring onions
  • 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
  • 1-2 freshly pressed cloves of garlic (or more)
  • 1 tbsp peanut oil
  • 1 tsp dark sesame oil
  • 100 ml cream
  • 1/4 tsp ground coriander
  • 1/4 tsp ground curcuma
  • 1/4 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
  • 1 pinch of ground chili (or more)
  • salt & pepper (to taste)
how to:
for the butternut:
  • Preheat the oven to 190° C fan.
  • Cut the butternut into halves, discard all of the pits & the mush, add a pinch of oil & rub it in.
  • Place the butternut halves on a baking tray lined w/ baking parchment & let them roast for about 40-50 min.
  • When the butternut is out of the oven let it cool for some minutes.
  • Scrape the butternut pulp w/ a spoon & mash it w/ a fork. Discard the rest.
for the savory version:
  • When the butternut is in the oven chop the onion & the bacon.
  • Fry onion & bacon pieces gently in olive oil for about 15-20 min until soft (but not burnt!). Set aside.
  • Mix crushed goat cheese & Greek yoghurt.
  • Add the goat cheese yoghurt mix to the mashed butternut pulp & mix thoroughly w/ a spoon.
  • Finally add the bacon onion mix & mix thoroughly – once again w/ a spoon.
  • Add salt & pepper to taste!
for the sweet & spicy version:
  • When the butternut is in the oven chop the spring onions, the ham & the shrimps.
  • Grate the ginger & press the garlic.
  • Fry everything for about 10-15 min in peanut oil until soft – be careful: don’t burn the mess.
  • Finally add sesame oil. Set aside.
  • Mix cream w/ all the spices.
  • Add the cream mix to the butternut pulp and mix thoroughly with a spoon.
  • Add the fried mess & mix.
  • Add salt & pepper to taste.
Notes
Prep Time: It’s the preparation of the butternut for the oven session.
Cook Time: Do the oven session for the butternut & the frying of the ingredients at the same time. So 40-50 min will be sufficient. The oven time for the butternut depends on the size of the butternut.
Butternut: I once worked w/ a rather big butternut and it was 50 min oven time. If you lay hands on a smaller one (about 1000-1200 g gross) you’ll need not baking for about 50 min, but only 40 min (or even less). Best is to set your timer to 30 min & then have a look at the butternut halves & make the test w/ the wooden pin. Add 10 min if not ready, add another 10 min …
Oil: For the butternut halves you may rub in flavorless oil like peanut oil. For the savory mash I recommend to work with olive oil while for the sweet & spicy mash dark sesame oil is fine.
The amounts of the ingredients for the savory version may be increased if it’s a rather big butternut approaching 1,5 kg. The same is ok for the sweet & spicy version.
Savoury: I used fresh cream cheese from 100% goat milk. You may substitute sour cream for Greek yoghurt … & you may also use store bought cream cheese w/ goat milk.
Sweet & spicy: You may add more pressed garlic as well as ground chili – if you like!
Store any leftovers in the fridge for about 2-3 days. Just reheat it in the microwave.
Sorry: no experience for freezing!