A little late for Thanksgiving (at least for this year), but this makes a nice savoury fall/winter pie. I rather like this plain version seasoned with a little thyme; my husband, on the other hand, prefers a cumin and paprika version.
To start with, acquire
1
butternut squash
1/2 yellow
onion
2 cloves
garlic
a tablespoon or two of
olive oil or
vegetable oil
salt and
pepper
1 9-inch pie crust; you could make one (try
here or
here), or buy one
Preheat your oven to 425F/220C.
Chop the squash in half from top to bottom - a large, very sharp, heavy knife should do the trick. Scoop out the seeds and fibers. In theory, you could then clean the seeds, roast and salt them and eat them as a snack. I admit I didn't bother.
Chop the onion and garlic finely. Put the squash halves on a baking sheet, season with a little salt and pepper, brush them with the oil, and put the onion and garlic in the holes where the seeds used to be. Roast the squash until it's soft; it won't take long at that temperature, so keep an eye on it.
Once the squash is cooked through, let cool until you won't burn your fingers handling it. If you made your own pie crust, this would be a good time to blind-bake it: line it with foil or baking parchment, fill it with dry beans (or rice, or pastry weights), and bake it for 10 minutes. Remove the beans and lining and bake it for another 10-15 minutes until it's nicely golden.
Once the squash is cool enough to handle, scoop the flesh out of the skins and run it through a food processor (or mash it with a fork), onions and all. Drop the oven temperature to 350F/180C.
Take 16oz (1lb, 400g) of the squash puree (save the rest, perhaps for a second pie or a squash soup) and add these:
2
eggs
1
egg yolk
1c/250ml
milk
1 tsp fresh
thyme leaves or a couple teaspoons each
cumin and
paprika
Whisk them together, pour the lot into the baked pie crust, and bake for 45-50 minutes, until the sides are set and the centre is almost set.
This goes very well with cheese - next time I make it, I may consider topping it with some grated cheddar. I suppose if one were to mix some cheese into the filling, it might become a sort of quiche.