Green Butternut Squash with Apples, Squash Shoots and Purslane
Unripe butternut squash, cooked with a sweet and sour preparation, apples, and purslane
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 2 cups peeled butternut squash cut into ½inch dice
- 1 cup hard baking apples like Zestar or Braeburn, or good old granny smith
- ½ cup thick Greek yogurt like Faye
- 1 tablespoon sliced spearmint
- kosher salt to taste
- Fresh squeezed lemon juice or taste
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoon vegetable stock or water
- Purslane tips a small handful, picked and cleaned
- 8-10 Squash shoots trimmed to about 4 inches, large leaves removed, and any small vines and minaiture squash reserved for garnish. Any excess stem sliced ½ inch (optional)
- Toasted pumpkinseeds to garnish
- 2 large scallion sliced ¼ inch (optional)
Instructions
- Mix the mint with the yogurt and season with a pinch of salt and a dash of lemon juice. Reserve.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter and water with the squash in a wide sauté pan, season with a pinch of salt and simmer until the squash is just tender, about 5-10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cube the apples.
- Add the apples to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes more, until the apples are tender. The juices in the pan should be slightly thick, coating the squash and apples lightly. Stir in the scallion and sliced squash vines, if using.
- Meanwhile, quickly warm up the squash shoots in the remaining tablespoons of butter, just warm them through to soften, you don’t want to sear them. Season the shoots lightly.
- To plate the dish, put a swoosh of yogurt in each of four soup bowls, evenly divide the squash-apple mixture between them, then top with two just warm squash shoots, a few pumpkinseeds and clusters of purslane and serve immediately.