Friday, November 4, 2011

50 Women Game Changers in Food - #22 Amanda Hesser - Butternut Squash Curry



From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Those of us who honed our cooking skills during the reign of Craig Claiborne at the New York Times often shared thoughts of what we'd serve were he to come to dinner. The position he held at the paper was prestigious and more than one of the women on the Gourmet list of Women Game-Changers in food owed their success to him and the coverage they received in the paper. Years later, Amanda Hesser would step into that same position. I suspect that during her tenure as food editor, the menu game was revived and meals were planned with her taking Claiborne's seat at the table. She has strong cooking chops. Although she has a degree in economics and finance, she was almost destined to become a food writer. She was raised in a family where everyone cooked, and while in college she worked in a bakery, delivering bread throughout the city of Boston. She went to Europe to study classic cooking techniques and worked in restaurants and bakeries in Germany, Switzerland, Italy and France. While in France she worked for Anne Willan, founder of the cooking school Ecole de Cuisine La Varenne, and began to write food related articles for newspapers and magazines. She was hired by the Times following the publication of her first book, The Cook and the Gardener. Other books to her credit include Cooking for Mr. Latte, The Essential New York Times Cookbook and a collection of essays called Eat, Memory. The jewel in her crown, however, is the website Food52. Here, among other things, recipes submitted by readers are screened, tested and then posted to the site for voting by the membership at large. Each week one winner is selected to go into an annual cookbook. It is a great place to visit. The site is a treat to the eyes, often good fun and a must read for anyone who loves food and cooking. Amanda Hesser holds position 22 on the Gourmet Live List of Women Game Changers in Food. She's earned it.

I've decided to feature her recipe for Butternut Squash Curry for two reasons. It is, of course, seasonal, but, even more important, it is interesting. This curry is very easy to do and it is a wonderful accompaniment to plain grilled meat or poultry. If you are unable to find curry leaves, simply proceed without them. There is no adequate substitute. Here's the recipe.

Butternut Squash Curry...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Amanda Hesser

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided use
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
3/4 teaspoon lightly crushed cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
3 cups baked, braised or mashed butternut squash
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 red chili
10 curry leaves
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
Salt

Directions:

1) Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium saucepan. Add onion and cook over medium-low heat until softened. Stir in turmeric, cumin and cayenne and cook for 1 minute. Fold in squash and warm gently.
2) Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a small saute pan. Add mustard seeds, chili and curry leaves. When seeds begin to pop, stir in coconut and remove pan from heat. Fold into squash, and season with salt. Yield: 4 servings.


The following bloggers are also featuring the recipes of Amanda Hesser today. I hope you'll visit all of them. They are great cooks who have wonderful blogs.


Val - More Than Burnt Toast, Joanne - Eats Well With Others
Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed, Susan - The Spice Garden
Claudia - A Seasonal Cook in Turkey, Heather - girlichef
Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney, Jeanette - Healthy Living
April - Abby Sweets, Katie - Making Michael Pollan Proud
Mary - One Perfect Bite, Kathleen - Bake Away with Me
Viola - The Life is Good Kitchen, Sue - The View from Great Island
Barbara - Movable Feasts, Kathleen - Gonna Want Seconds
Amy - Beloved Green,Jeanette - Healthy Living
Linda - Ciao Chow Linda, Linda A - There and Back Again
Martha - Lines from Linderhof, Nancy - Picadillo
Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits, Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen

Next week we will highlight the career and recipes of Nancy Silverton. It will be really interesting to see what everyone comes up with. If you'd like to join us please email me for additional information no later than Monday, November 7th.

35 comments :

Rambling Tart said...

I simply adore butternut squash but have never had it in a curry before. This looks so creamy and warming. :-)

Schnitzel and the Trout said...

Just cleaned out my spice cabinet and noticed the curry thinking I really need to use that. This looks very good and I know where I can get the leaves. Thanks.

Priya Suresh said...

Curry looks fabulous,never tried butternut squash this way.

Umm Mymoonah said...

Lovely comfort dish, beautiful serving plate too..

Manju @ Manjus Eating Delights said...

This curry looks good. I make a similar version with pumpkin and it's our family fav. Thanks for sharing.

Regards,
Manju
Http://manjuseatingdelights.blogspot.com

Diane said...

Love butternut with curry, I always put curry in my butternut soup as well. Yum yum Diane

The Blonde Duck said...

I need to try butternut squash!

Sprigs of Rosemary said...

No, I'll never find curry leaves, but this is such and interesting dish, I'll just have to try it without. And Amanda Hesser is such an interesting woman, too. I love visiting Food 52, too. So many amazing, creative cooks out there!

Unknown said...

Hi Mary! Your recipe sounds delicious and so unique. It seems like so many butternut squash recipes are all the same! It is also such an interesting post, thanks!

Vicki Bensinger said...

I love butternut squash and curry together and this version sounds wonderful, especially with the addition of coconut. Depending on how your thanksgiving meal is prepared this could be a nice addition to the menu.

Sue/the view from great island said...

This sounds like the most delicious exotic version of comfort food. I have to go out and locate some curry leaves asap. Great choice.

That Girl said...

I've never heard of Food52 but it sounds fascinating.

Diane Marie Hall said...

Thank you for your kind comments about charlie. I thought I would drop by and check out your blog, so glad I did. I enjoy blogs about cookbooks and food too. I visit another one daily, its usually a short read and is about old cookbooks, thought I'd share it with you.
http://cookbooklove.blogspot.com/search/label/1942

Unknown said...

Oh wow... I have had different kinds of curry, but never butternut squash! I bet it was delicious!

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

We are like two peas in a pod Mary and love to ea, and prepare of course, interesting foods!!

Heather S-G said...

Oh, this sounds delightful...so fitting for the season. Plus, I'm always looking for ways to use the curry leaves I have in my freezer...perfect!

Karen (Back Road Journal) said...

This sounds delicious...but I'll have to make it without the curry leaves. Living in a small New England town sometimes has its limits when it comes to ingredients.

Barbara said...

What a lovely recipe choice for fall, Mary. And the flavors are so unusual for a butternut squash dish...curry, cumin, the tang of the mustard seeds, and heat of cayenne and the chili. Amazing.

Susan Lindquist said...

Ha! It's funny ... I have looked high and low in my rural backwater for curry leaves and black mustard seed ... to no avail. I need to go to Boston or NYC to find such spices ... that said, this curryied squash dish looks wonderful! I'm reading The Cook and the Gardener right now ... she has a nice way of teaching while she paints the picture of living and working in France ... her description of the Chateau de Fey is pretty spectacular in and of itself!

Claudia said...

Hesser is amazing and not afraid of hard work. But her results sparkle. I have many flavorful years ahead working through her NY Times cookbook. This curry is a perfect example of how she she makes old recipes new.

Jeanette said...

What a lovely butternut squash recipe to honor Amanda Hesser by. Love all the spices in this dish, and curry leaves are a favorite of mine too. Thanks again for hosting this event Mary.

Anonymous said...

Well, I love everything butternut squash (and everything curry) so this sounds pretty darn amazing.

Bubbe Bites said...

Yup I love seasonal stuff too. I am so glad you shared this with us. It would make a wonderful Lenten meal.

Cooking Gallery said...

The recipe sounds great and I like the presentation of the curry, simply delightful! Thanks for sharing the recipe, Mary :)!

Clint said...

Cindy loves this one!

Ginny Hartzler said...

This looks perfect for the fall. Do you ever watch any of the Top Chef type shows?

Gloria Baker said...

This curry look delicious Mary, have a nice week end!

My Picadillo said...

It looks delicious...I must make this soon!

Joanne said...

Another wonderful Amanda Hesser recipe! This curry sounds so delicious...it's definitely making it to my to-try list!

Feisty Crone said...

What a great butternut squash recipe, Mary! And thanks for stopping by my blog.

Gisela said...

This looks great. I love winter squash and I love curry, why not put the two together. And it seems perfect for fall too.

Catherine said...

Dear Mary, I love the flavors in this squash. This is a wonderful new way to serve the squash this Thanksgiving holiday. Blessings, Catherine xo

Tanna said...

Love butternut squash... curry sounds like a very interesting way to try it. Thank you, Mary! blessings ~ tanna

Beth F said...

What a fantastic idea. I'm 22 weeks behind the times. :) Glad to have discovered this through Heather (Girl Chef) who linked her post up to my Weekend Cooking feature. I'll be back here often.

Mireya @myhealthyeatinghabits said...

Mary,

I love the simplicity of this recipe, and turmeric, cumin and spices some are in my list of top five spices. Great choice!

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