Orange Braised and Glazed Butternut Squash
Our Thanksgiving table usually had one of two sweet potato dishes. One of them was an orange sweet potato recipe that was more orange than potato and had a nice tart, almost bitter element.
While I love the traditional Thanksgiving foods, I like to change things up a bit, but not so much that risks a revolt.
Enter orange braised and glazed butternut squash. Not only does the squash have some of the brighter elements of the orange sweet potatoes, but it also has a comforting complexity of caramelizing the natural sugars of the squash and orange juice which is enhanced with nutmeg. The cooking method follows Mark Bittman’s Soy Braised and Glazed Butternut Squash recipe from How to Cook Everything that my mom has become known for making.
Oh! Story time. My mom asked me to finish the soy braised and glazed butternut squash one evening. She said the cookbook was open to the recipe and laughed like there’s no way I would follow it. Oh, I could and would follow the recipe. As we ate that night my dad asked if it was a new recipe. I said, no that’s mom’s. He said, “Oh, I didn’t recognize it.” I boldly said, “I followed it exactly!” My mom laughed and said you didn’t add the sesame seeds. No way there were sesame seeds in that recipe! I jumped up and flipped the cookbook to page 367. The last sentence of the recipe read “Proceed with the recipe, garnishing with sliced scallion and sesame seeds instead of the parsley if you like.” Oh dangit.
Orange Braised and Glazed Butternut Squash Ingredients
3 lb butternut squash
3 Tbl grapeseed oil
¾ tsp orange zest
½ c orange juice
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp salt
½ c chopped roasted pecans
Orange Braised and Glazed Butternut Squash Directions
Poke a few holes in the squash and microwave it for about 5-8 minutes to soften the skin, but keeps the flesh firm.
Slice off both ends of the squash. Then, slice where the round part meets the cylinder so you have two pieces. It will make it easier to peel the squash.
Stand the round part on its cut edge and with a sharp knife, slice vertically just under the skin so only the flesh remains. Cut the squash in half and spoon out the seeds and stringy fibers.
Lay it cut side down and cut into ½” wide strips. Lay the strips flat parallel to the counter and cut into ½” cubes (or as cube-like as you can).
Stand the cylinder portion on its end and remove the peel. Lay it on its side and cut it into ½” rounds. Stack 2-3 rounds and slice it into ½” strips, turn the strips 90 degrees and slice it into ½” cubes.
Put 3 Tbl of grapeseed oil in a saute pan and heat it until it shimmers and nears smoke point. Add 1 piece of squash and if it sizzles plenty, proceed. If it does not sizzle, remove the piece and continue heating the pan.
Add the cubed squash, ¾ tsp orange zest, ½ c orange juice, ½ tsp nutmeg, and ½ tsp salt. Bring the juice to a boil, cover it, reduce the heat to low, and cover the pan. Stir the squash about every 5 minutes. After about 15 minutes of cooking, it should be fork tender.
Leave the cover off the pan. Increase the heat so the liquid boils. When no liquid remains, reduce the heat to low until the squash begins to brown. Gently stir it every 5 minutes. I take it off of the heat when about ½ of the squash is brown. You can cook it until it’s more brown or less brown. Taste. Add more salt if needed. You can add more nutmeg if you like, but it should be taking a back seat so much you might not even realize it’s there.
Remove it from the heat and gently fold in ½ c of chopped pecans.
Notes
Use any high heat oil you have.
You can use cardamom or cinnamon in place of the nutmeg.
The squash will keep and reheat well. When it’s first cooked, there will be a few crispy bits, but will not be present after reheating it.
