Dec 4, 2008

Kabocha Puree with Brown Butter Sage


We've had a large kabocha squash sitting around on the kitchen counter for weeks now. We found it at a farmers' market and after trying some freshly cooked samples, decided to give it a try. Unlike a lot of squash, this one's skin can be eaten as is.

By committee, my wife and I decided to make a puree. Instead of going to read up on it, I've done what I've started to do quite regularly in the kitchen now -- wing it.

Starting with two cups of vegetable stock, I added the squash (which had been covered in foil and roasted/steamed in an oven at 350 degrees until somewhat tender) and basically poached it until the stock had reduced and the squash had started to fall apart with tenderness.

At that point, I used an immersion blender to puree it, then passed it through a sieve to remove the fibrous tissues and come out with a nice texture. Two cups of stock was probably too much, so you might try just one instead.

To finish it off, I cut chiffonades of sage and added them to butter. Over medium-low heat I browned the butter and fried up the sage. Drizzling that over the top added a great bit of texture and flavor from the crispy sage leaves.

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