Mashed butternut squash with crispy bacon and shallot

This vegetable side dish is perfectly paired with crumbled bacon and diced shallots.

This adorable dish is presented in individual ramekins, but feel free to forego the ramekins and serve this in a rustic bowl, on a plate or in a casserole.

Mashed butternut squash with crispy bacon and shallot

Ingredients:

• 20 ounces butternut squash, cut into cubes
• 6 slices bacon
• 1 large shallot, sliced very thin
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Fried (or fresh) sage leaves for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Prepare a roasting pan by lining it with aluminum foil, set aside.
3. In a heavy pot, cook bacon until crispy. Turn off the heat. If you want to fry the sage leaves in bacon grease, set aside the bacon and place all but one tablespoon of the grease into a very small saucepan (leaving one tablespoon of grease in the heavy pot for later use). Add the sage leaves to the bacon grease for one minute, being careful not to burn them.
4. Without turning the burner back on, add your sliced shallot to the same large pot you cooked the bacon in. Allow it to sizzle up a bit in the bacon grease you left in the pot. The pot should be hot enough to cook the shallot to a desired slightly crispy texture without having to turn the heat back on.
5. Now, if you haven’t already done so, turn the heat back on to medium-high and add the butter. When melted, add butternut squash and stir all around, coating the squash with the butter. After about four or five minutes, add the squash to your prepared pan lined with aluminum foil.
6. Place the pan in the oven and cook until squash is tender, 15-20 minutes. Once finished, add the cooked squash back to the large heavy pot and mash. Add your bacon (crumbling it in), shallot and cheese (if you’re using) and stir until well mixed. Salt and pepper to taste.
7. Spoon into ramekins, pressing down with the spoon to make a smooth surface. Make pumpkin lines with toothpick, paring knife or any sharp utensil. If it’s still hot, go ahead and eat or reheat in the oven when ready to serve. Place fried sage leaf on top to represent pumpkin stem before serving.

More butternut squash recipes

Butternut squash and Swiss chard pizza
Butternut squash manicotti
Butternut squash soup with cider cream