Ingredient of the Week: Butternut Squash

“To me, people just love butternut squash,” Chef Tom Douglas says, “and it just says fall.”

Celebrate the changing of the season with butternut squash. Tom recommends cooking it with tons of herbs, and “you don’t need to put any carmelization on it. It’s just a fun fall kind of thing.”

“When I think butternut squash,” Chef Thierry Rautureau adds, “I think of mushroom. It’s kind of the fall season.” He recommends making a butternut squash soup: roast the squash whole, then scoop the meat out and put it in a blender. Finish with a little vegetable stock, a little bit of butter, and a little hazelnut butter. He recommends having roasted chanterelle mushrooms on the side with a garnish of goat cheese.

If you’re looking to get away from soup, Tom says you can put the squash in a salad by tossing chilled, carmelized squash with fresh greens or arugula.

You can also roast butternut squash and cover it in caramel, then top with gingerbread cake, he says.

Whole Foods Markets are a proud sponsor of Seattle Kitchen’s Ingredient of the Week.