Monday, October 7, 2013

Savory Butternut Squash Soaked Oat Muffins

Savory Butternut Squash Soaked Oat Muffins

As the weather turns colder and my farm share starts including butternut squashes, I tend to do one of two things:  I roast them or I pile them up in a cold corner of my breakfast nook to make my Strategic Winter Squash Reserve (link to my FB page photo of SWSR 2013).  With the roasted squash, I make different main dishes or side dishes.

Late last winter, however, when the Strategic Winter Squash Reserve was the only source of 'fresh' CSA farm share vegetables [still had stuff put up in the freezer and pantry], I got creative.  I shredded the squash.  Shredding a vegetable that you normally use in a mashed form gives you all sorts of options (like Chicken Saltimbocca).  I've revamped my Visual Recipe Index! For more ideas on what to do with your butternut squash, click here.

Savory Butternut Squash Soaked Oat Muffins | Farm Fresh Feasts


Since I'm crazy flexible enough to add vegetables to oatmeal and buttermilk and make muffins, I thought I'd throw a cup of shredded butternut squash in the bowl and see what happened.  The lovely thing about this soaked oat muffin recipe is that you toss the first few ingredients together, then have plenty of time to figure out just what you're going to make in the hour before you finish the muffin batter and start baking.  Plenty of time to dither between sweet and savory muffins.

In the end, I veered into the savory muffin direction (oh come on, the title of today's post gave it away). I had a bit of leftover dribs and drabs from a ham, and figured I'd chop them up and add them to the batter.  I added a bit of cornmeal for crunch, and a bit of thyme because I could, and honey in place of sugar for a hint of sweetness--not too much.   For a rather virtuous muffin (whole grain, no processed sugar) they are delicious.  Come see!

Savory Butternut Squash Soaked Oat Muffins | Farm Fresh Feasts

Savory Butternut Squash Soaked Oat Muffins | Farm Fresh Feasts
At first mixing
Savory Butternut Squash Soaked Oat Muffins | Farm Fresh Feasts
After soaking an hour or two. And adding thyme.

Savory Butternut Squash Soaked Oat Muffins

1 cup shredded raw butternut squash
1 cup oats
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/4 cup OlivExtra (or cooking oil of your choice)
2 Tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup chopped ham (optional, could be a bit more, could be a bit less)

In a large bowl, combine squash, oats and buttermilk. Let sit at room temperature 1 - 8 hours (or prep up to a few days in advance and store in fridge).  When you're ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a 12 cup muffin pan with oil spray.  Add egg, oil, honey and thyme to the squash mixture, stir thoroughly.  Dump dry ingredients on top, mix a bit, add ham, and stir just until combined.  Check the consistency of your batter.  If the batter seems a bit stiff or dry, add a tablespoon or two of buttermilk to the mixture (I used 2 and that did the trick). Scoop** (affiliated link to my muffin scoop) batter into prepared pan.  Bake 18-20 minutes. Cool in pan 5 minutes, run a knife around the edges, and turn onto a rack to cool completely.

Try these with soup!

**My scoop holds 3 Tablespoons (1 ½ ounces) by volume, though the muffin batter is mounded in the scoop so I'm pretty sure I'm putting a good 3 ½ to 4 Tablespoons into each muffin well.  The muffin wells in my regular muffin pans each hold 3 ounces by volume.

This post is shared on the Clever Chicks Blog HopTasty TuesdaysWhat's Cookin' Wednesday, What's In the Box, and the From the Farm Blog Hop

Savory Butternut Squash Soaked Oat Muffins | Farm Fresh Feasts

14 comments:

  1. I think I will replace the ham with a salty cheese and call it a day. Beautiful pictures.
    I have oats and buttermilk in the fridge right now and I plan to make my mixture and stick it in the fridge. Do you think it will also keep in the freezer? Especially if I make a handful of them?

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    Replies
    1. Meghan,
      Salty cheese would be lovely. Terrific idea.
      As for freezing--let me walk you through my thought process. First: No! Freezing milk sauces is a no no! People say not to freeze pesto with cheese in it either! Second: People freeze and thaw milk all the time. Buttermilk is no different. I freeze cheese, too, and freeze pesto w/ cheese in it. No big deal.
      Finally I decided it's a fabulous idea, and I think you should let me know how it thaws.

      Delete
    2. I freeze pesto with cheese all the time too and haven't encountered an issue yet.

      Guess who got a butternut squash in last night's food share??? If you guessed me, you'd be right. Guess I'm going to figure out how to shred raw squash. I'm excited.

      Delete
    3. The meatless version of these muffins has been made and devoured. In the Hubby's words, "There's something really good in here." Success!

      Delete
  2. I'd omit the ham, but I love the idea of shredded b'nut squash in muffins instead of puree. The texture would be so different.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lydia,
      It would be very good without ham--and yes, shredding changes things up a bit.
      Thanks!

      Delete
  3. Ha ha, love the 'strategic winter squash reserve!' They tend to pile up in my kitchen even without a CSA share. Right now I've got a huge kabocha that I have to do something with (as opposed to just talking about it). So how the heck do you shred the butternut, when butternut squash is so hard? Curious minds want to know......

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mary,
      I have a huge Mystery Squash, two of them in fact (don't look a thing like each other though) that I need to do something with eventually. I like how squash can keep (better, say, than the tomatoes that threaten to split on the vine if I forget to check them for a few days.

      I peeled the butternut and ran it through my food processor with the fine shred disc. If you don't have a food processor, a teenager could do the job with a box grater, too. If you don't have a teenager, I will loan you one. ;)

      Thanks!

      Delete
  4. Ooh, savory muffins. And I like the idea of using cheese in them. I never make savory muffins, but I think it's time to start. Especially with soup season coming up!
    Sarah

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sarah,
      I don't make savory muffins often enough, but we like them when I do. It's an easy bread to have with soups and stews (though now that I've made dumplings on stew my kids may never let me go without--they loved them!).
      Thanks!

      Delete
  5. These look delicious! I think I'll replace the ham with cheese, but other than that -- they look perfect. And I want them.

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    Replies
    1. Lauren,
      Thank you--even though I know your pregnancy cravings will drive you to want darn near everything! They are delicious, and cheese would be a great replacement.

      Delete
  6. These muffins sound so good!! Thanks for linking up with What's Cookin' Wednesday!

    ReplyDelete