Part of the “bottom of the fridge” of our weekly homemade menu -when the temperature allows it-, is based on a batch of vegetables that we usually prepare on Sunday and then we distribute in salads, pasta or rice dishes, toasts, creams and whatever. let it be third. The pumpkin is not usually missing in them, because it is healthy, healthy, at home we all like it and there is no scenario in which it cannot play a leading role.
Some time ago we discovered that, by making diagonal cuts so that the dressing penetrates its meat and with a couple of dressings on top, it could be a perfect starter or accompaniment, and even become a salad if you let it cool, you fill its hole with fresh cheese and top it with a handful of arugula, pine nuts and olives. As pumpkin goes great with butter and also with nuts, it was a matter of time to find this tasty combination.
The noisette or toasted butter is so called not only because of its color that it takes after evaporating the liquid and roasting its solids (to later discard them). To get it right, start by buying a good unsalted butter, which has butter as its only ingredient (it may seem obvious, but if you take a look at the fine print on that supermarket shelf it won’t seem so much anymore). Butter is about 87% fat, the rest is whey and solid waste.
Don’t use less butter than the recipe calls for – the idea of making half may sound smart, but in delicate processes like this volume is important, and with such a small amount it is much easier to burn. What can you do with the leftover butter? Instead, ask yourself what you can’t do with it: spread it on a toast of rye bread with roasted garlic, salt and pepper, use it to dress a pasta dish or to butter a rice, to tie the sauce of a stew, to top any steamed vegetables or let it melt over a piece of grilled meat or chicken.
Difficulty
The one that the butter is toasted and not churrumada.
Ingredients
For 4 people (as a light main or accompaniment)
- 1 large violin-type pumpkin (or pipiana, or two potimarrón, in total approximately 1 kg, with shell and all)
- 200 g of butter (we’ll use about half of the net result, about 85 g)
- 2 tablespoons sliced (or chopped) almonds
- Salt
- Pepper
- Parsley (optional)
- Lemon zest
Preparation
- Turn the oven to 180 degrees, heat up and down -if you can- and roast the squash open in half without peeling (if they are elongated, cut them lengthwise). After about 30 or 35 minutes, when they start to be soft, remove the seeds with a spoon and cut them into a diamond shape, season and return them to the oven to continue cooking, until they take on a nice toasted color and smell good.
- Meanwhile, toast the rolled almonds in a non-stick pan without oil over very low heat, so that they do not burn, and stir until they are toasted. Reserve.
- Put the butter in a saucepan over very low heat until a foamy layer forms on the surface -the serum-, which we will remove with a spoon.
- Continue cooking without raising the heat, stirring from time to time until the butter takes on a toasted blond color, while some dark spots form (don’t take your eye off it while it cooks). Strain with a cloth strainer, a cheesecloth or a very clean fine cotton cloth and set aside.
- When the pumpkin is ready, pour in half the butter, arrange the filleted almonds on top and top with more pepper (and, if you like, a little chopped parsley and lemon zest). Serve hot or lukewarm.
If you make this recipe, share the result on your social networks with the hashtag #RecetasComidista. And if it goes wrong, complain to the Chef’s Ombudsman by sending an email to [email protected]
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