I’ve become a big fan of dips – give me a variety pack of hummus flavors, or a savory baba ganoush, or a pile of guacamole any day and I’ll lay into it. I wasn’t expecting that butternut squash would make such a fantastic dip, though; rather than a recipe, today I present something I affectionately call a “mess-cipe” – something that easily could have turned out terribly as an experiment in the kitchen but which instead turned out delicious!
I was eager to roast up the butternut squash, so I added basil, oregano, and some last sprigs of rosemary that I had handy but after it finished cooking I kinda… left it in the oven to cool? I went about my afternoon, busy, and then came back to cooled-off, gooey squash. It was easy to separate the chunks from their skin, but then I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it. My thought was “Pasta sauce,” along the lines of some you might have seen used on “butternut squash mac and cheese.”
I didn’t have a lot of cheese available, but I added cheese and milk, and used the food processor to mix it up. I made Husband a bowl of pasta and covered it in the sauce, which he vouched was sweet but flavorful, a perfectly fine dinner. What I noticed, though, was that since it was all fairly cool, it was really firmer than a sauce… more like a dip.
Instead of serving myself pasta, I dug a tortilla chip into the mixture, and crunched into it… PERFECT. While not a normal dip for tortilla chips, the mixture was too smooth for me to want it on something else soft like pasta, so I got the satisfying crunch and also the yummy flavor of butternut squash. I cannot give you exact measurements, but I definitely recommend that you try something like “mashed butternut squash” and have chips or crackers with it – the flavor is unusual but the texture is perfect for a dip.
My oregano is overtaking my herb garden (and my rosemary and basil certainly appear poised for world domination) so I’ve been desperately searching for more oregano recipes! This looks great, and I can’t wait to try it!
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This sounds delicious. Also, is it weird that every time I see you blog name I sing it to the tune of Message in a bottle by The Police? I can’t stop doing it!
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Yes!!! That was part of my play-on-words – I feel like I should have titled my “recipe request” post something like “Sending out an SOS… Sending out an SOS…”
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Omg yesss, you should have. I think all your post titles from now on should be The Police song related puns. Maybe branch out into Stings solo work once they’re exhausted. I do love a good pun!
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“Don’t Stand… Don’t Stand… Don’t Stand so close to the stove!” hehehe I might run out quite quickly.
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Every cake you bake… Every little thing she cooks is magic…King of Pain (au chocolate). You’re probably right though. It was a fun thought while it lasted haha.
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This sounds delicious! Have you tried Yotam Ottolenghi’s Butternut Squash & Tahini spread? I think you’d love it! http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/butternut-squash-tahini-spread-shop
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awesome!! making this tomorrow 😀
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Yum! That looks delicious 🙂
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I know someone who definitely has to try cooking this…!
JP
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Yum! I made something similar, except with sage as the herb flavoring. Yours looks most delicious as well!
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that looks amazing! i need to try this!
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