I have re-discovered an old friend-the butternut squash. Growing up with pseudo-hippie parents in the 70s-80s, my sister and I were exposed to a variety of veggies that may not have crossed the average palate (especially in the meat-and-potato I-can-capture-and-kill-my-own-food town we lived in). Swiss chard, beet greens, and kale steamed up in heaps; and peas, beans and sorrel were eaten raw by the fistfuls. And then there was the squashes. Acorn, spaghetti, zucchini, butternut-I know I am missing a few more . Often, my mom would simply slice the squash, plop a knob of butter with some brown sugar and bake -easy peasy. Or it would be cut up into a winter veg soup or stew. Nothing flashy or terribly memorable-hence why I thought I had never eaten butternut squash before until my sister reminded me.
I bought the squash with the intention of steaming and mashing it up for my baby; however, after a sneaked nibble, I was hooked. Slight sweet taste, very smooth-what could I do with this? I searched on allrecipes.com and found a Turkey Shepherd's Pie recipe that had a russet potato top-what if I adapted this by using 2/3 sweet potato and 1/3 squash? Would it work? Or be mushy baby food -perfect for my daughter? The challenge was on!
So why Shepherd's Pie? I wanted to make a Shepherd's Pie as I am a lover of comfort food AND of a dish that "mushes" everything together-especially potatoes, peas, corn. I also wanted to make a healthier version that would taste amazing but not be a calorie monster-and mission accomplished. The butternut squash helped bring the calories down AND added a slight sweet creamy taste to the potato layer. Because the squash is moist, it allowed me to cut down on the butter portion without affecting the taste or consistency. My husband loved loved loved it-and that my gold seal of approval! I will defiantly make the TSP again.
Next challenge-Butternut Squash Spiced Muffins-stay tuned!
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