Butternut Squash

A hearty bowl of pasta plus savory cheese? You'd never know this whole-grain comfort food is diet-friendly! Squash supplies all the vitamin A you need for the day.

This nutty, satisfying puree— enriched with chicken fat for tradition's sake or pareve margarine—makes a nice bed for the roast duck.

Cooking by color might not be the surest way to devise holiday-appropriate recipes, but who can resist the lure of black linguine on Halloween? Tossing it with pumpkin-hued vegetables lusty with garlic and hot pepper might seem like hobgoblin overkill, except that the flavors work well together. Really well. So much so that you'll be making this pasta combination again and again, long after the jack-o-lanterns have disappeared.

Lightly caramelized slices of roasted squash make a tasty and pretty salad, dressed up with toasted almonds, crumbled cheese, and glistening swirls of Reduced Balsamic Vinegar (recipe follows), one of my favorite condiments. Serve this as an antipasto, a first course, or a side dish. With roast meat or poultry, it can be a main course salad too. How about a Thanksgiving leftover salad of roast squash and my roast turkey (page 332) with balsamic reduction and Quince Chutney (page 368)? Any sweet-fleshed winter squash is suitable, but I find the scalloped edges of acorn squash slices look especially nice.

A pilaf enriched with butternut squash, red pepper, and toasted pumpkin seeds is wonderful with Spanish white beans and spinach. It would also be terrific with roast chicken.

Beets don't often make an appearance on the Thanksgiving table—but they should. They add an earthy sweetness to this mix of roasted vegetables that also includes butternut squash, russets, and yams.

Linguine with mussels gets fit for fall with roasted butternut squash and wilted spinach. Briny and sweet mussels complement the richness of the squash.

A squeeze of lime unites all the flavors of these new-wave quesadillas.

A flaky phyllo crust, layered with butter and a pumpkin pie–spice sugar forms the crust for this silky well-spiced pie.

Chile verde—slow-cooked pork in a tomatillo sauce—gets a speedy update.

Green apple and a dash of cider vinegar provide just the right amount of tart balance in this slightly sweet, down-home soup topped with homemade bacon bits.

Sweet butternut squash teams up with earthy red lentils to make this simple and satisfying vegetarian dinner.

The delicate crust of this galette gets a warm spiciness from fresh sage.

Sweet nibbles of butternut squash temper the bitter edge of radicchio in every bite of this healthful, satisfying pasta.

While eating at one of the coveted counter seats at Les Cocottes, Christian Constant's chic restaurant, food editor Paul Grimes was deeply inspired by the pumpkin soup, which surprised him with savory little chunks of foie gras waiting at the bottom of the bowl. Here, Grimes explores squash's more savory side by cooking it with a touch of tomato and providing that little bit of sweet surprise in the form of chopped chestnut. With just a dollop of whipped cream, it is rich only in looks and spirit—a spoonful will reveal how unbelievably light it is.

We love the many textures and flavors of this spicy coconut curry with butternut squash, spinach, and cashews. Bottled red curry paste keeps it supermarket-friendly.