Butternut squash dish a salad, vegetable side

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PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Roasted butternut squash salad in tossed version (left) and untossed.

Debby Lute-Storey answered Richard May's request for butter chicken made like at Clay Oven. Debby is also a big fan of the restaurant, and she tinkered and tinkered to replicate its recipe at home. Mildred Giesbrecht sent in a winter salad that's a favourite with her family. Adapted from a recipe by the wonderful food writer Ina Garten, it's made with butternut squash and a warm vinaigrette.

Please keep recipes for salads and soups coming in, and Dolores M. is looking for a sour cream coffee cake recipe, the kind with streusel on top and in the middle. If you can help with a recipe request, have your own request, or a favourite recipe you'd like to share, send an email to recipeswap@freepress.mb.ca, fax it to 697-7412, or write to Recipe Swap, c/o Alison Gillmor, Winnipeg Free Press, 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, MB, R2X 3B6. Please include your first and last name, address and telephone number.

Butter chicken

30 g (2 tbsp) butter

250 ml (1 cup) onion, chopped fine

10 ml (2 tsp) garlic, minced

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced

22 g (1 1/2 tbsp) fresh ginger root, minced

10 ml (2 tsp) chili powder

5 ml (1 tsp) turmeric

2 ml (1/2 tsp) cinnamon

1 x 840 ml can (28 oz) diced tomatoes with juice, plus 45 g (3 tbsp) tomato paste OR 1x680 ml can (23 oz) Hunt's Thick and Rich Original Pasta Sauce

30 ml (2 tbsp) brown sugar

2 ml (1/2 tsp) salt

2 ml (1/2 tsp) pepper

150 ml (2/3 cup) half & half (10 per cent) cream

175 ml (3/4 cup) sour cream

In a large heavy saucepan or pot with a lid, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and chicken and cook until onion starts to soften, about 5 minutes. Add ginger, chili powder, turmeric and cinnamon and cook 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Add tomato sauce or diced tomatoes and paste, brown sugar and salt and pepper. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Slowly add cream and sour cream and simmer very gently uncovered for 5 minutes, being careful not to boil. Serves 4.

Tester's Notes: This terrific dish has a good balance of tomato and cream, with full, distinct flavours but not a lot of heat. Debby adds that if you're in a hurry, you can use leftover cooked chicken or pick up a supermarket rotisserie chicken and add it in the last five minutes, but she thinks you get a fuller taste if you start with the uncooked chicken. Debby suggests serving with basmati rice and some naan bread for sopping up the sauce.

Roasted butternut squash salad

(from a recipe by Ina Garten)

750 g (1 1/2 lbs or about 4 cups) butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced into 2 cm (3/4 in) cubes

30 ml (2 tbsp) olive oil

15 ml (1 tbsp) maple syrup

salt and pepper

45 ml (3 tbsp) dried cranberries

175 ml (3/4 cup) apple cider or apple juice

30 ml (2 tbsp) cider vinegar

30 ml (2 tbsp) minced shallots

10 ml (2 tsp) Dijon mustard

125 ml (1/2 cup) olive oil

5 ml (1 tsp) salt

2 ml (1/2 tsp) pepper

125 g (4 oz or about 8 cups) baby arugula, washed and dried

125 ml (1/2 cup) walnut pieces, lightly toasted

175 ml (3/4 cup) grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 205C (400F). Toss squash with olive oil, maple syrup and salt and pepper, spread on a lipped baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes, turning once, until tender. Add dried cranberries in last 5 minutes of baking time. Meanwhile in a small pot, combine apple cider or juice with cider vinegar and shallots. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat and boil until reduced to about 60 ml (1/4 cup). Remove from heat and whisk in mustard, olive oil and salt and pepper. In a large bowl or serving dish, combine arugula, toasted walnuts, squash mixture and grated cheese. Add vinaigrette to taste, toss well and serve warm.

Tester's notes: This is a great winter dish, being a cross between a vegetable side and a salad, with a great mix of flavours and textures. Add the vinaigrette a little at a time: You might find you don't need it all -- I didn't -- and you don't want to drown the lettuce.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 11, 2012 C4