Inspired by our fall harvest from volunteer butternut squash plants around the garden and fall mushrooms.
I normally caramelize the squash in a pressure cooker and then make a soup. This time I used the purée directly and added roasted Hen of the Woods on top with a sprinkle of sage oil. The trick with the squash purée is to add a bit of baking soda to the pot when pressure cooking to help with the caramelization of the sugars in the squash. Unfortunately you can't easily make this purée without a pressure cooker. The recipe looks more complicated than it is as but the three parts are easy to make and do not require much monitoring.
Take the cleaned hen of the woods and pull the bigger pieces into smaller "leaves". Put the leaves in a bowl and add 2 tbsp of oil along with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. mix and make sure all of the mushroom pieces are covered in oil. Place in a ovenproof pan or rimmed baking sheet and put into an oven at 450F for 30 to 40 minutes.
Check the mushrooms at 30 minutes.The hen of the woods are ready once the water released by the mushrooms has evaporated and they have gone crispy at the edges. They should still be a tender in the middle. Remove from oven and sprinkle with lemon juice.
Melt the butter in a pressure cooker and add the peeled squash pieces. Stir to coat.
Stir the water, salt and baking soda to combine. Add to the squash and stir well.
Pressure cook at 1 bar/15psi for 20 minutes. Only start the timer once pressure has been reached. Give the pressure cooker a shake a couple of times during the cooking process to try and prevent the squash from sticking to the bottom of the pan
After 20 minutes is up release the pressure quickly by running water over the lid and sides of the cooker.
Add half a cup of water to the squash and blend the mixture until smooth. I used a hand held blender but any blender will work. The consistency should be thicker than soup and not run on the plate.
Add 3-4 leaves pf sage to a pestle and mortar along with 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Grind the leaves a little then add 3 tbsp of oil. Grind until the leaves have turned to an oily paste.
Place the squash purée in a shallow bowl on on a plate. Spread out so it is not in one big pile. place the roasted Hen of the Woods on top. Use a spoon to sprinkle the sage oil over the mushrooms and purée. Serve while still warm.
Ingredients
Directions
Take the cleaned hen of the woods and pull the bigger pieces into smaller "leaves". Put the leaves in a bowl and add 2 tbsp of oil along with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. mix and make sure all of the mushroom pieces are covered in oil. Place in a ovenproof pan or rimmed baking sheet and put into an oven at 450F for 30 to 40 minutes.
Check the mushrooms at 30 minutes.The hen of the woods are ready once the water released by the mushrooms has evaporated and they have gone crispy at the edges. They should still be a tender in the middle. Remove from oven and sprinkle with lemon juice.
Melt the butter in a pressure cooker and add the peeled squash pieces. Stir to coat.
Stir the water, salt and baking soda to combine. Add to the squash and stir well.
Pressure cook at 1 bar/15psi for 20 minutes. Only start the timer once pressure has been reached. Give the pressure cooker a shake a couple of times during the cooking process to try and prevent the squash from sticking to the bottom of the pan
After 20 minutes is up release the pressure quickly by running water over the lid and sides of the cooker.
Add half a cup of water to the squash and blend the mixture until smooth. I used a hand held blender but any blender will work. The consistency should be thicker than soup and not run on the plate.
Add 3-4 leaves pf sage to a pestle and mortar along with 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Grind the leaves a little then add 3 tbsp of oil. Grind until the leaves have turned to an oily paste.
Place the squash purée in a shallow bowl on on a plate. Spread out so it is not in one big pile. place the roasted Hen of the Woods on top. Use a spoon to sprinkle the sage oil over the mushrooms and purée. Serve while still warm.
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