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Couldn’t-be-easier butternut squash bake

by Jeanne Horak on November 24, 2007 14 Comments in Gluten-free, NaBloPoMo 2007, South African, Vegetable side dishes, Vegetarian

butternut-squash-bake

One of the many things that sets the South Africans apart from the British is our deep affection for pumpkins and other squashes.  I do wonder whether it’s a climate-related issue, as gourds generally like a dry climate. Maybe this is why we share our love of gourds with our American cousins. Either way, butternut squashes and their ilk are still approached with some trepidation in the kitchen by many of my English friends, whereas in my kitchen they are old friends and trusty standbys. 

And in South Africa I defy you to find a restaurant that does not regularly have as its vegetable choices mashed butternut and creamed spinach 😉

But I digress.  Another culinary quirk that sets us apart from the Brits (and this one is shared by nobody, as far as I can tell housewives of the American midwest, apparently… see the comments!) is our reliance on packets of brown onion soup powder.  I don’t think there was ever a time that my mother’s kitchen ran out of this multi-purpose wonder ingredient, and I know for a fact that she was not alone.  If you asked a friend’s mother for her recipe for a particularly delicious savoury dish, 7 times out of 10 the recipe would start with “well, you take a packet of brown onion soup…”.  It is the secret ingredient in stews, potato bakes and various vegetable dishes – like the one I will share with you below.

This recipe is one of my most tried and tested ones and even if your guests profess not to like butternut squash, this is the recipe most likely to convert them.

Try it and see!

20070901_butternutsquashbake2e

BUTTERNUT SQUASH BAKE (serves 6 as a side dish)

Ingredients

1 medium-large butternut squash
250ml cream (single or double)
1 packet dried brown onion soup
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs (optional)

Method

Lightly grease a large, shallow ovenproof dish and pre-heat the oven to 190C.

It’s up to you whether or not to peel the squash.  The cooking is so long and slow that even if you leave it unpeeled, the skin gets to be soft enough to eat.  If you plan to leave it unpeeled, though, do give it a thorough scrub.  Slice the squash into 1cm thick rounds, scooping out the seeds.  Slice each round in half.

Start by placing a layer of squash slices on the bottom of the greased dish.  Pour over some of the cream and then sprinkle liberally with the brown onion soup.  Repeat, making layers of squash, cream and soup until all ingredients are used up.

If you want a crispy crust, cover the top with the breadcrumbs.  Cover the dish with aluminium foil and bake in the pre-heated oven for 60-90 minutes or until the squash is meltingly soft.  Remove the foil about halfway through and turn on the grill for the final few minutes if you want a browned and crispy top.

Follow me every day in November as I complete National Blog Posting Month – a post a day, every day, for 30 days! Here are all my NaBloPoMo ’07 posts so far.

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  1. Nicisme says

    November 24, 2007 at 1:10 pm

    Oh Jeanne, this looks wonderful! I really just discovered butternut squash this year and I LOVE it!! Where has it been all my life, lol!
    I like the idea of the crispy topping, this one’s a keeper, thanks.

    Reply
  2. Kalyn says

    November 24, 2007 at 3:09 pm

    Oh I am laughing my head off here, because in Utah all the local people use that onion soup mix in most every dish. In the U.S. the brand most seen is Lipton’s Onion Soup mix, and I have a number of good recipes that use it, especially one for meat loaf. If you buy a local church cookbook you’ll find recipes galore with that ingredient. This sounds just wonderful to me! And although I don’t cook with Lipton onion soup mix as much as I once did, it’s something I always have in my cupboard too!

    Reply
  3. Kit says

    November 24, 2007 at 3:42 pm

    I’ve adopted the butternut in a big way – but I’ve obviously not quite reached the inner sanctum of South African cuisine as I didn’t know about the soup mix! I’ll have to try this one too – I usually bake mine with liberal amounts of butter and a sprinkling of cinnamon.

    Reply
  4. Katie says

    November 24, 2007 at 8:26 pm

    My mother uses Onion soup mix in everything – it is an absolute stapple of American kitchens… No Midwestern cook would be without it!
    I can’t get it here.
    But I do have lots of squash and we love it roasted…without the soup mix 😉

    Reply
  5. Robert says

    November 24, 2007 at 10:57 pm

    That looks delicious! The markets here are full of squash and pumpkin at the moment and here I sit without a kitchen to cook in! Not fair.
    Will definitely give this a go once my domestic situation has returned to normal.

    Reply
  6. Chris says

    November 25, 2007 at 1:49 am

    Butternut squash is one of my favs! This bake is perfect for this time of year. And onion soup is a wonderful secret ingredient. Yum!

    Reply
  7. moonablaze says

    November 25, 2007 at 4:36 am

    if you want to, you can even make your OWN onion soup mix!
    Onion Soup Mix
    3/4 cup instant minced onions
    1/3 cup instant bouillon
    4 teaspoons onion powder
    1/4 teaspoon celery seed, crushed
    1/4 teaspoon sugar
    Directions:
    Mix all the ingredients together with a whisk. Store in a cover container for up to 6 months. Stir before each use. 5 tablespoons of the mix equals 1.25 ounce package of store bought mix.
    – moonablaze, who’s mother’s brisket recipe calls for a can of whole-berry cranberry sauce and a packet of onion soup.

    Reply
  8. myfrenchkitchen says

    November 26, 2007 at 12:09 pm

    I can just say….give me a butternut and I can give you a meal! But you know what I miss here in France is the real white flat pumpkin, the “boerepampoen”, the one we used to make “pampoenkoekies” with..this bake looks so interesting, I haven’t done the cream before.
    ronell

    Reply
  9. Susan from Food Blogga says

    November 27, 2007 at 12:09 am

    Are you kidding me? It’s that easy? What beautifully colorful comfort food. I adore butternut squash.

    Reply
  10. ejm says

    November 27, 2007 at 8:14 pm

    We’ve just discovered the wonders of butternut squash (have always loved acorn squash but hadn’t realized how great butternut squashes were). My husband recently made a mashed version of butternut squash using virtually the same ingredients you’ve used in your casserole. The only difference aside from the mashing? He left out the bread crumbs and used chicken stock powder instead of brown onion soup powder.
    I LOVE butternut squash and am constantly amazed at how much I loathed squash as a child! It wasn’t because Mom prepared it incorrectly either. She always halved it and baked it shell side down with butter and a bit of nutmeg in the cavity where the seed were. I ask you, what could be more wonderful? (Oh wait, I know: sliced and baked with cream, garlic and bread crumbs!)
    -Elizabeth

    Reply
  11. Michele says

    April 5, 2012 at 2:12 am

    I live in New Zealand now and everyone that comes over must bring me onion soup powder or else!
    My other favourite is the oxtail soup powder.

    Reply
    • Ulla says

      March 4, 2015 at 10:34 pm

      Why don’t you buy NZ onion soup powder – works just as good!

      Reply
  12. Eileen says

    May 27, 2016 at 12:22 pm

    Delicious thank you can you do the same with sweet potatoes and brown onion soup?

    Reply
  13. Maxine says

    March 3, 2018 at 11:05 pm

    This the first time I have read you blog it’s just fantastic.
    I have got seeds to plant gem squash.
    I am going to use some of your recipes.
    Much love,
    Maxine

    Reply
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Jeanne Horak is a freelance food and travel writer; recipe developer and photographer. South African by birth and Londoner by choice, Jeanne has been writing about food and travel on Cooksister since 2004. She is a popular speaker on food photography and writing has also contributed articles, recipes and photos to a number of online and print publications. Jeanne has also worked with a number of destination marketers to promote their city or region. Please get in touch to work with her Read More…

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