Author Notes: A light, souffle-like version of a seasonal squash casserole, it’s delicate sweetness will wow guests, and as it can be cooked the day before, it’s a good recipe to have tucked in your back pocket. Notes: a medium-sized butternut squash will yield sufficient flesh for the recipe, I usually halve the squash, and cook it in the microwave until tender. Once cooled, the flesh can be removed from the skin, and mashed using a potato masher, ricer, or an immersion blender. —JoannaF
Serves: 8 – 10 as a side dish
Ingredients
-
2.5
pounds mashed butternut squash (or 3 cups)
-
3
tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
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1/4
cup finely minced white onion
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2
eggs, separated
-
1/4
cup milk
-
3
tablespoons all purpose flour
-
3
teaspoons baking powder
-
3/4
teaspoon salt
-
1/8
teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
-
1/2
cup unseasoned bread crumbs
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease a 6-cup casserole dish.
- Prepare buttered breadcrumbs. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add unseasoned bread crumbs and stir until butter is absorbed. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into a clean frying pan, and saute the minced onion until translucent.
- Stiffly whip the egg whites. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the pureed butternut squash with the sauteed onions. Add the egg yolks, milk, flour, baking powder, salt and pepper, stirring to combine.
- Quickly fold the stiffly beaten egg whites into the butternut squash batter.
- Pour batter into the greased casserole pan, smoothing top. Sprinkle with the buttered bread crumbs.
- Bake for 25 minutes. When cooked, the edges will be golden brown and pulling away from the dish. The center will have puffed up.
- This recipe can be prepared the day before and reheated, covered, in a 200 F oven until warm. It won’t maintain the puffed appearance but will be just as tasty.
