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What to Do With Butternut Squash: Try it Raw
TL;DR: Cut the butternut squash where the neck meets to bulb. Shave the seedless neck into raw ribbons for goat cheese crotini with maple syrup, and save the round bulb.
You picked up a butternut squash because it looked beautiful at the market and you could not beat the price. Now it’s sitting on your counter, waiting for the same old roasting pan. We’re Jody and Kirstie, Red Seal chefs who shop at St. Jacobs Market every week, and this is what to do with butternut squash when you want something new. Start by eating some raw.
Made in collaboration with St. Jacobs Market.
What to Do with Butternut Squash: Use the Neck, Save the Bulb
Think of butternut squash as two vegetables. The long neck is solid flesh with no seeds, and you can eat it raw. It peels into clean ribbons from top to bottom. The round bulb hols the seeds and a hallow centre , whick makes it better for cubing, roasting and soup.
That split is how we get three dishes out of one squash. The neck goes raw onto the crostini (recipe below) and into a pan of brown butternut squash ribbons. The bulb goes into our Sunshine Soup.
To split it: lay the squash on its side and cut straight through where the neck starts to swell into the bul. Stan the neck on its flat end and peel it top to bottom. Wrap the bulb and keep it in the fridge for later in the wekk.
Can You Eat Butternut Sqaush Raw?
Yes. Shaved thin, raw butternut squash is crisp and a little sweet, a lot like a raw carrot. Slice it thin, though. We use a peeler, because thick pieces of raw squash are tough to chew.
The kitchen science: why we salt the ribbons
A pinch of salt on raw vegetables pulls water out of their cells by osmosis. The salt sits on the surface, and the water inside the cells moves outward to even things out. On squash ribbons that does two jobs at once: it season them and it relaxes them just enough to drape over the toast instead of springing off of it.
Salt the ribbons before you build the crostini. You want them seasoned and a little softer, with plenty of crunch left.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 crostini 1x
Ingredients
2 slices sourdough
1 Tbsp unsalt butter, for toasting
1 Tbsp olive oil, for toasting
200 g soft goat cheese (chevre)
2 cups raw butternut squash ribbons
2 tsp olive oil, for the ribbons
1 to 2 Tbsp maple syrup
Flaky sea salt
salt and pepper
Instructions
- Toast the bread. Heat the butter and olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
- Peel the neck of the squash, then run a Y-peeler down the length in long, steady strokes to make 2 cups of ribbons.
- Toss the ribbons with 2 tsp olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Spread the goat cheese over the warm toast, about 50g per slice.
- Pile the ribbons loosely on top.
- Finish with a drizzle of maple syrup and a pinch of flaky sea salt. Serve immediately.
Made in collaboration with the St. Jacobs Market.
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Notes
Types of Squash at St. Jacobs Market
In the fall, the produce stalls at St. Jacobs are stacked with winter squash. Each on cooks a little differently, so here’s what to reach for.
Butternut squash
Tan and bell-shaped with a long neck. The flesh is smooth and sweet and the seedless neck is the easiet squash to peel. It’s the one we buy for ribbons and soup.
Honeynut squash
It looks like a mini butternut, about half the size, with deeper orange skin and sweeter flesh. The skin is thin enough to eat, so you can halve and roast it without peeling. It doesn’t keep as long as butternut, so cook it within a week or two.
Acorn squash
Small, dark green and deeply ridged. Those ridges make it a pain to peel so cut it in halt, scoop the seeds and roast it in the skin.
Spaghetti squash
Pale yellow and oval. Roast it whole or halved, then pull a fork through the flesh and it comes away in long strands.
Buttercup squash
Squat and dark green, with a round cap on the bottom. The flesh is dense and sweet, and it is great roasted or mashed.
Kobocha squash
Round and dark green, often with faint stripes. Kobocha has a drier deep orange flesh that holds its shape when roasted
How to tell buttercup from kabocha
Flip it over. Buttercup has a raised round cap on its blossom end, a little like a belly button. Kabocha’s bottom is plain. Inside, kabocha is dried of the two.
Where We Shopped at St. Jacobs Market
Everything for this recipe came from these stalls
- Squash: 100 Mile Produce
- Goat Cheese: Mickey McGuire’s Cheese
- Sourdough: Artisan Breads
- Maple Syrup: Edgar Gingerich Maple Syrup, Harvey Martin Farms
How to pick a butternut squash
- Weight: pick up a few. The best one is heavy for its size
- Skin: look for a matte, even tan. A shiny squash was picked too early, and green patches mean it isn’t fully ripe.
- Surface: skip any with soft spots, bruises, or cuts.
- Shape: for ribbons, choose one with a long, thick neck. More neck means more ribbons
Next Up: Brown Butter Butternuyt Squash Ribbons
The same neck, peeled into ribbons and toss in brown butter and rosemary for two minutes. It’s the fast warm side we make in the fall. Get the brown butter squash ribbons recipe.
Then Turn the Bulb Into Sunshine Soup
The bulb you saved goes into our most requested soup, with sweet potato, carrot, ginger, turmeric, and coconut milk. Cube it and it’s ready to go. Get the Sunshine Soup recipe.
Jody and Kirstie’s Hot Tips
- Butter for flavour, olive oil for cripsy. Use both when you toast the bread.
- Peel the whole neck first, then switch to the ribbons. Light pressure.
- Stop when the ribbons get narrow. Dice the last strip of core and toss it in with the soup.
- Let the goat cheese sit out for 15 minutes so it spreads out without tearing the toast.
- Build right before serving. That way the toast stays crisp
Substitutions
- Goat cheese: ricotta or whipped feta
- Maple syrup: honey
- Sourdough: any sturdy loaf, or a baguetter sliced on an angle
- Squash: stick with butternut here. its long, seedless neck is what cuts into clean ribbons. Carrot ribbons work in a pinch.
What to Avoid
- Thick ribbons. Raw squash needs to be thin. If a ribbons won’t bend it is too thick.
- Building too early. The goat cheese and ribbons will soften the toast if they sit.
- A shiny squash. It was picked to early and won’t be as sweet.
- Skipping the salt. Unsalted ribbons taste flat and won’t lie down on the toast.
Storage
Keep a whole butternut squash somewhere cool and dark, not in the fridge. it will last 1 to 2 months. Once it’s cut, wrap te bulb and refrigerate up to 4 or 5 days. Shave the ribbons the day you serve the, and build the crostini just before eating. Assembled crostini don’t keep.
FAQ
Can you eat butternut squash raw?
Yes. Raw butternut squash is saft to eat and tastes crisp and mildly sweet. Shave it thing with a Y-peelers, add a pinch of salt and a little olve oil, use it on a crostini or salads.
Which part of a butternut squash is best for ribbons?
The neck. It’s solid flesh with no seeds, so a peeler can run its full length. Save the round bulb, which holds the seeds, for roasting or soup.
Do you have to peel butternut squash before eating it raw?
Yes, the skin is tough when raw. Peel the neck completely before you start makign ribbons.
Why do my hands feel tight after peeling butternut squash.
We call this “squash hands”. Really fresh squash is full of moisture, When you cut it, the juice gets on your hands and dries there, which leaves your skin feeling tight. Jody holds the squash with a paper towel while she peels and cuts so the juice never touches her hands.
Can I make butternut squash crostini ahead of time?
Prep the part, then build at the last minute. Toast the bread a few hours ahead and keep it uncovered. Shave the ribbons the same day. Assemble right before serving so the toast stays crisp
Key Takeaways
- The neck of the butternut squash has not seeds, whick makes it perfect for raw ribbons.
- Raw butternut squash is safe to eat and tastes crisp and milkding sweet.
- A pinch of salt seasons the ribbons and softens them just enough to drape
- Choose a squash that is heavy for its size with matte, even tan skin.
- Save the bulb for roasting or our Sunshine Soup
Get the Habits Behind the Recipe
Toasting bread in butter and oil together is on of those small things chefs do without thinking. We put ten habits like it in a free ebook, 10 Things Chefs Do That Home Cooks Don’t. Download it free here.
About the Authers
Jody O’Malley and Kirstie are the Red Seal-certified chef co-owners of The Culinary Studio in Waterloo, Ontario. Jody is a Stratford Chefs School graduate (2002), and Kirstie trained at SAIT in Calgary (2003). Together they bring over 20 years of professional cooking experience and 15 years building one of Canada’s leading culinary education businesses. They teach home cooks the science and techniques behind great food, not just the recipes, and co-host the Chef Over Your Shoulder podcast alongside Amy Schlueter. They shop St. Jacobs Market every week, and Jody lives just down the road.
