Sometimes I'm just like a kid at a toy store when I enter the Food court...Even though I love the summer time and kind of feel disappointed that the weather is getting colder I can't help getting excited when I see all the lovely pumpkins and butternuts displayed on a big table....I think I even let out a squeal of happiness when I saw them...Yikes!
Butternut squash is probably my favourite especially when making purees or soups. I feel like there's so much you can do with Butternuts without even having to add too much spice, salt or butter.
I was inspired by the colors of the pumpkins and also got really excited when I saw zucchini flowers. I just simply couldn't resist.
So here I am at 33000ft heading to Bordeaux and writing about my meal I had yesterday :) and some today as well.
Pan fried Whitefish with Butternut puree and Zucchini flowers
The Whitefish
Put some oil in the pan and add a knob of butter.
Sprinkle with flake salt. Add the pieces of fish skin side down. Fry until the skin is golden brown and crispy. Instead of turning over the fish use the butter and oil in the pan and baste the fish using a spoon. If necessary flip the fish over but just for a really short time. Remove the fish from the pan....and even if it doesn't look cooked all the way through it will continue cooking a bit afterwards. I prefer my fish underdone to overcooked. It should be nice, juicy and flakey.
The Butternut Puree
Peel the butternut and remove the seeds (If you like you can dry and roast the seeds later)
Dice the butternut into small cubes...they don't have to be even, since you are going to puree them anyway.
You could roast them in the oven to keep maximum flavour but this time I kept it really fast and simple and I know some people would be really angry with me for cooking my butternut in water but it's just so fast and I'm trying not to add butter to everything :D.
Pour lightly salted water on top just enough to cover half of the butternut. You could add butter and whatnot...but honestly butternut has so much flavour on its own that for once I want to keep it really simple and really healthy. Boil until soft.
Drain away the excess water.
Put into a blender and blend until smooth.
If necessary thin the puree with either using stock, cream, coconut milk or any of your preference.
I added just a tiny splash of cream cause I happened to have an opened cart. Honestly the amount was so tiny that I still consider this to be really healthy.
Season with salt if needed.
The Zucchini flowers
I haven't eaten zucchini flowers very much in my life and I've actually only seen them being deep fried and filled with stuff. I decided to just try and pan fry them. Another way I tried was putting them in the oven with a bit of butter on top....This way when the butter goes a bit nutty it's delicious (of course when you add butter everything tastes good..oops)
Yesterday though, I just lightly fried them, keeping them still a bit crunchy and still they were super good (and a bit healthier than the buttery option).
This really is a super easy meal for any occasion and right now pumpkins and butternuts are in season. I think I could eat butternuts every day :D
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