Sour Cream and Onion Butternut Squash
Most of what I want to eat is either junk food, or inspired by junk food and this Sour Cream and Onion Butternut Squash is no exception. It’s tangy, savoury, creamy with just a touch sweet. Though it might be a bit of a labour of love I truly feel it is an excellent dinner party side dish or could easily be a main for two.
Watch Points
Cooking the shallots is the trickiest part here and for this reason I highly recommend using a mandolin or benrinner to slice them. If your shallots are uneven you will will not all cook at the same rate and you may risk burning some of the slices which would ruin the flavour of the oil, which is used later on in the recipe.
If you do burn them I would highly recommend trying again, once you have this skill down you will want to add them to everything you eat! Plus the oil adds a great depth to other dishes – my personal favourite is in a vinaigrette!
You may feel tempted to reduce the amount of oil you use – please, please, please do not! If anything add more! The the shallots need to be fully submerged in order to evenly cook. You will also want to resist the urge to increase the heat – medium is your friend here, let them hang out and do some dishes, or prep some other components of your meal!
For the final watch point I really need to emphasize that for the sauce, the oil must be added in very slowly. Either have a friend slowly drizzle it in while you whisk, or add it your self with no more than 1 Tbsp at a time. A split/curdled mayo is not very appetizing.
The Sauce
A good sauce is what makes every dish and for this recipe we are essentially using a chip dip! Sour cream and mayo are a classic creamy dip combination but since we have all of that left over shallot oil we are going to make our own mayo! The shallots infused a ton of their flavour into that oil which will really bump up all of that oniony goodness!
One of the things I have always found so neat about mayonnaise is that the more oil you add the thicker it gets. So if you want more of a spread than a drizzle just keep adding oil until you reach your dream consistency and leave out the water completely!
When testing this recipe I tried a few ways, one of which was a play off of Julia Child’s Sour Cream sauce where cream or sour cream is added with the yolk and then the oil (or a vinegrette) is slowly beaten in to the yolk mixture. Unfortunately I kept splitting the emulsion so I figured we should just keep it simple, make the mayo first and then fold in the sour cream. JUST FOLD IT IN!
Planning Ahead
Need this to come together with little work on the day of? No problem!
- Shallots can be fried and stored in an air tight container at room temperature for up to one week.
- Sour Cream Sauce can be made and refrigerated up to three days in advance.
- Squash could be peeled and cut the day before.
Equipment
- 2 Baking Sheets
- 1 Small Pot
- Medium/Large Frying Pan
- Chef’s Knife
- Peeler
- Sieve
- Whisk
- Measuring Spoons
- Measuring Cups
- Mandolin (recommended)
- Aluminum Foil (or Parchment)
- Paper Towel
Sour Cream and Onion Butternut Squash
Course: Dinner, VegetablesDifficulty: Medium4
servingsRoasted butternut squash smothered in a creamy and savoury onion sauce topped with pancetta and crispy shallots.
Ingredients
- Butternut Squash
2 whole Butternut Squash (approximately 2 lbs)
2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil (or other Neutral Oil)
Salt
- Crispy Shallots
3 Shallots (approximately 2/3 Cup once they are sliced)
1 Cup Vegetable Oil
Salt
- Sour Cream Dressing
1/2 Cup Reserved Shallot Oil
1 Egg Yolk
1 tsp Red Wine Vinegar
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
0.5 tsp Garlic Powder
1.5 tsp Dried Minced Onion
0.25 tsp Salt
2 Tbsp Finely Chopped Dill, Chives or Parsley
- Garnish (Optional)
175 g Pancetta
2 Tbsp Finely Chopped Dill, Chives or Parsley
Fresh Ground Pepper
Directions
- Prep and Roast Butternut Squash
- Preheat your oven to 425F and line two half sheet pans with aluminum foil.
While the oven preheats peel, cut in half length wise and seed your squash. Cut the neck of each squash into 1″ rounds and the base into 8 wedges each. - Transfer squash pieces to your prepared sheet pans then drizzle with oil and season with salt. Toss to combine and roast one the top and middle racks for 60-90 minutes, flipping half way through until golden and tender.
- Crisp Your Shallots
- Using a mandonlin, benrinner, or in a pinch a sharp knife thinly slice your shallots to 1/8″-1/4″. It is important that they all be a consistent thickness so that they cook evenly.
Transfer the onions to a small pot and cover with oil. Depending on the size of your pot you may need to adjust the amount of oil as the shallots need to be fully submerged. - Transfer the pot with the shallots to a burner on medium heat, once they begin to simmer continue to cook for 12-15 minutes or until evenly brown. Be cautious during this step not to burn the shallots.
- While the shallots cook set a fine mesh sieve over a heat proof bowl and line a plate with paper towel.
- When the shallots are done cooking drain them, reserving the oil, and then transfer to the paper towel lined plate. Season with salt while they are still hot.
- Sour Cream Dressing
- In a medium sized bowl whisk together the egg yolk, vinegar and mustard. Once thoroughly combined begin vigorously whisking in the reserved shallot oil no more than one tablespoon at a time. Adding too much oil at once will cause the mayo to split. The more oil you add the thicker the mixture will become.
- When your mayo is thick and creamy add the remaining ingredients and whisk to combine. If your mixture is too thick for your taste you can thin it by adding water one tablespoon at a time.
- Fry Pancetta
- If you choose to use pancetta about ten minutes before your squash will be done add it to a medium sized cold pan and heat over medium high.
This will slowly render out the fat which will result in super crispy pancetta. - While the pancetta cooks line a plate with paper towels.
Stir frequently for 5-6 minutes and when the pancetta is crisp transfer to the towel lined plate. - Plate!
- Add the roasted squash to individual plates, or a serving dish, spoon the sour cream sauce over top, garnish with pancetta, crispy shallots, fresh herbs and cracked pepper.
Enjoy!
Notes
- Aluminum foil will help get your squash a bit more golden but if you just have parchment on hand that is absolutely fine!
