Roasted Butternut Squash with Cinnamon Chipotle Butter

If you couldn't tell from the gingerbread post, the (almost) cooler weather has me craving warm spices. Ran across this recipe from Fields of Greens for cinnamon chipotle butter and thought it would be tasty on butternut squash. (Greens is a celebrated vegetarian restaurant in San Francisco.)

The recipe called for a chipotle purée made from chipotles in adobo. But I was in a hurry and that felt too fussy. So I used chipotle powder instead. Either way, this butter would be good on so many things...any roasted veggies, sweet potatoes, even fish or shrimp. A little puddle of it melting in the middle of velvety roasted butternut made for a great weeknight dinner veg for us. The lime juice seems like an odd man out in this recipe, but gives the butter a tart little zing that balances nicely with the warm spices.

I usually roast a bunch of butternuts at the same time and then freeze the leftovers. Makes for a great shortcut later on.

Roasted Butternut Squash with Cinnamon Chipotle Butter

5-pound butternut squash
1/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder (or 1 teaspoon purée of chipotles in adobo)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
splash of fresh lime juice (from 1/4 to 1/2 lime)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut squash in half lengthwise and place in a roasting pan or on a cookie sheet cut side up. Roast for one hour or until it begins to lose it's shape.

While the squash is roasting, make the butter. Stir together the softened butter with the chipotle, cinnamon and salt. Squeeze juice from 1/4 lime into the butter and stir together well. Taste. If you'd like more zing, add more lime juice.

Remove the squash from the oven and let cool for at least 10-15 minutes. Scoop out the flesh of the squash, discarding the skin. Purée in a blender or with an immersion blender or food processor.

Before serving, reheat the squash if necessary. Serve smooth puréed squash with a dollop of the cinnamon chipotle butter in the center to melt.

Serves 4-6.

Cinnamon Chipotle Butter recipe adapted from Fields of Greens cookbook by Anne Somerville.