Recipe of the week: Autumn madness: Warmed brown butter

Warmed brown butter is hot, said Donna Deane in the Los Angeles Times. Known in French as beurre noisette, brown butter has been around for ages. But lately, chefs from Spago in Beverly Hills to Mélisse in Santa Monica “have been drizzling it, whisking it, incorporating it with uncommon glee.” Easy-to-make, nutty-flavored brown butter goes especially well with autumn food, including Brussels sprouts and ravioli filled with pumpkin or butternut squash. “Fattening? Yes. But a little goes a long way.”

Recipes of the week

Roasted Kabocha Squash

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

With Brown Butter

1 Kabocha squash

1 tbsp canola oil

3/4 cup pecan halves

1/4 cup butter

1/4 tsp sea salt

4 tsp maple syrup

1 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

Fleur de sel

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut squash into quarters, scoop out seeds. Brush cut surfaces of squash with oil. Put squash cut-side down on foil-lined baking pan. Roast until squash is fork-tender, about 60 minutes. Toast pecans on large baking pan until lightly browned, about 6 to 8 minutes. Set aside.

In small heavy skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Continue to cook, whisking until butter turns nut brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Mix pecans with 1 tsp of browned butter and sea salt. Heat broiler. Turn squash quarters upright with skin side down. Drizzle each baked squash quarter with 1 tsp maple syrup. Put squash under broiler until edges are slightly charred and syrup has nice glaze, 3 to 4 minutes.

Drizzle 1 tbsp of brown butter over each squash quarter, then sprinkle nutmeg, toasted pecans, and a little fleur de sel on quarters and serve. Serves 4.

Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes

2 lbs Yukon gold potatoes

Sea salt

1/2 cup butter, cut into small cubes

White pepper

1/3 cup warm milk

1 tbsp snipped chives

Peel potatoes and cut into 1-1/2 to 2-inch pieces. Place in 4-quart saucepan, add water to cover by 2 inches. Add 1 tsp salt, bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-high, cook until potatoes are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

While potatoes are cooking, heat butter in heavy 9-inch skillet over medium

heat until melted. Once butter has melted, whisk until golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Set aside.

When potatoes are tender, drain well. Put potatoes through potato ricer or

mash them. Sprinkle with 3/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper. Set aside 2 tbsp brown butter to drizzle over top. Add remaining brown butter to potatoes along with warm milk. Lightly stir just to combine, being careful not to overmix. Spoon potatoes into serving bowl. Drizzle over remaining 2 tbsp butter and sprinkle with chives. Serves 6.