Pressure Cooker Squash With Honey and Lemongrass Recipe (2024)

Recipe from Nathan Myhrvold, Chris Young and Maxime Bilet

Adapted by Melissa Clark

Pressure Cooker Squash With Honey and Lemongrass Recipe (1)

Total Time
35 minutes
Rating
4(166)
Notes
Read community notes

This caramelized delicata squash purée, adapted from Nathan Myhrvold's multivolume “Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking,” is prepared in a pressure cooker. Normally, a pressure cooker wouldn’t get hot enough to caramelize anything. But, Mr. Myhrvold explained, if you create an alkaline environment with a sprinkle of baking soda, you can caramelize at a lower temperature. And the pressurized environment helps ingredients caramelize through and through, not just around the outside. This gives the squash an intense, nutty flavor, which is enhanced here with buckwheat honey and lemongrass. —Melissa Clark

Featured in: A Good Appetite: Sorcerer’s Apprentice Hosts a Dinner

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Ingredients

Yield:10 servings

  • 4tablespoons unsalted butter
  • pounds delicata squash, peeled, seeded and cut into ½-inch cubes (4 cups)
  • ½lemongrass stalk
  • 1teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½teaspoon baking soda
  • Buckwheat honey or other honey

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Make the recipe with us

  1. Melt butter in a pressure cooker. Stir in squash, lemongrass, salt and baking soda. Cover tightly with pressure cooker lid and cook at a gauge pressure of 1 bar (15 p.s.i.) for 20 minutes. Begin the timing after the pressure has been reached.

  2. Step

    2

    Depressurize the cooker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

  3. Step

    3

    Remove lemongrass. Blend the squash to a smooth purée. Season with honey to taste. Serve, or refrigerate and then reheat gently before serving.

Tip

  • To double the recipe, cook the squash in two batches.

Ratings

4

out of 5

166

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Phil Kalina

The Instant Pot directions say its low pressure setting cooks at 5.8 - 7.2 PSI. Its high pressure is 10.2 - 11.6 PSI. The article at the link Aaron gave says, if using the higher pressure range, to increase cooking times by 7% to 15% for recipes which specify cooking at 15 PSI.

Aaron

Instant Pot maxes out around 15 PSI (see this article: http://instantpot.com/which-electric-pressure-cooker-operates-at-15psi/ )

But, don't be afraid! It's hard to ruin squash, especially with this much butter!

Donna

I always use some liquid--usually water--in the pressure cooker.
How much did you add? There's none listed in the ingredients.

susan

followed recipe. Burned on the bottom. Thought it might without water. Did I miss something??

Raven

Diet requires less butter, so I used half and added 1/4 water. The lemongrass I had on hand was in a spice mix with curry and ginger. Will repeat! 20 minutes on high for instant pot was fine. We licked the pot! Will definitely make again!

Darcy

I doubled the recipe and made it in one batch and it came out great. I mashed it with a fork rather than pureeing it. Delicious, and nice lemony flavor from the lemon grass (I used two stalks). Perfect Thanksgiving side.

Reuel

Meh, roasting in the oven with a little olive oil and seasoned as you wish is way better. If I wanted to eat baby food I could just buy a jar and be done with it

Rose

Maybe best recipe I’ve made from NYT! And I didn’t have any lemongrass

Sarah M

Delicious and so easy. I made this two nights in a row, the first night with delicata squash, as the recipe calls for, and the second night with cubes butternut squash from the grocery store. I added a couple of minutes to the cook time, as recommended by other reviewers. I didn’t bother melting the butter first.

VNS

for Instant pot: mix ingredients in recipe in heatproof bowl on the rack that comes with the Instant Pot. Add one cup water beneath rack and follow recipe pressure cooking instructions, using high pressure and quick release. The caramelization is subtle and lovely! I didn't need to use any honey, the squash was plenty sweet. Also, I didn't have lemon grass, but half-a-lemon's worth of lemon zest worked fine.

Vicki F

Very bitter aftertaste. A big disappointment.

Amy Jane

I enjoyed making and eating this recipe using my pressure cooker. The video showed lots of water along with the squash and after puréeing created more of a sauce for them to enjoy. I noticed the other comments with some people saying their squash burned. Mine did not burn, but there was no water left in the pot. Squash pieces were very caramelized. So my result was more of dry a “mashed potato” consistency, and of course I could have added water. It was really good, and easy. Thanks!

Michelle

Do you think this would work with sweet potatoes?

Charlie Byron

I used an Instant pot an liked the result. Next time I want to use a slightly longer cooking time, maybe 25 minutes. But it was great this time.

Cristina

I've just did the recipe, i stopped after 10 minutes since i smelled burnt from the pressure cooker. Yes, it was burnt in the bottom but the rest is delicious.

Savilac

I made this, but would add a little water, because it had a burnt butter flavor which I didnt like, I would add half a cup of water just for the purpose of avoiding the burnt butter flavor.

Raven

Diet requires less butter, so I used half and added 1/4 water. The lemongrass I had on hand was in a spice mix with curry and ginger. Will repeat! 20 minutes on high for instant pot was fine. We licked the pot! Will definitely make again!

Darcy

I doubled the recipe and made it in one batch and it came out great. I mashed it with a fork rather than pureeing it. Delicious, and nice lemony flavor from the lemon grass (I used two stalks). Perfect Thanksgiving side.

J

Lesson learned: drain the squash as much as you can before you puree it. My squash had pretty much liquified anyway, so I dumped the entire contents of the pot into the blender ... and ended up with butter soup. Seriously - it's like butter with a hint of squash and lemongrass.

erno

wierd, lemongrass too old? soggy

Patricia

So no extra liquid needed? Instant Pot says always include at least a half cup liquid.

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Pressure Cooker Squash With Honey and Lemongrass Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Can you eat the skin of a honeynut squash? ›

Always: Acorn, Delicata, Honeynut

Wofford and our test kitchen editors will leave the skin on delicata, acorn, and honeynut squash to save time, add nutrients, and reduce food waste. These varieties have thin skins that soften readily when cooked.

How to eat squash? ›

Season with salt, pepper, and olive oil and roast in a preheated oven until tender. Boiling: Cut the squash into small chunks and boil in a pot of water until tender. Steaming: Cut the squash into small chunks and steam in a steamer basket until tender.

What is the difference between honeynut squash and butternut squash? ›

Honeynut squash has a similar shape and flavor to butternut squash but averages about half the size and is sweeter. It has two to three times more beta-carotene than butternut squash. Honeynut squash can be roasted, sautéed, puréed, added to soups, stews, and braises, and has enough sugar content for desserts.

Which squash skin is not edible? ›

Honeynut squash are especially delicious roasted with a little cinnamon and butter. The only winter squash skin to avoid eating altogether, even if well cooked, is spaghetti squash because of its thick, eggshell-like quality.

What is the healthiest way to eat squash? ›

You can bake or roast it in your oven and top it off with either savory or sweet seasonings. Cinnamon can add sweetness to acorn squash while still being nutritious – or even dessert. You can even eat the skin for added fiber.

Should you peel crookneck squash? ›

The skin of crookneck squash is edible and adds color and texture to your dishes. However, if you prefer a smoother texture or are using larger, more mature squash, you may choose to peel it.

Is squash good or bad for you? ›

Squash is rich in minerals, including calcium. Calcium helps build and maintain healthy bones and teeth. The vitamins A and C in squash also help keep your bones healthy. In fact, a 2017 review of studies linked vitamin A deficiency to an increased risk of bone fractures.

Is it safe to eat the skin of butternut squash? ›

You can eat the skin, so there's no need to peel it. Simply halve it, scoop out the seeds and chop it into chunks, then roast it and add it to a warm winter salad or throw it into curries, stews or soups. You can also roast the seeds and eat them as a snack or sprinkled over a finished dish.

Can you eat the skin of baby squash? ›

It's definitely OK to eat squash skin,” Rayna Joyce, vegetable production manager at Bread and Butter Farm in Shelburne, Vermont, told me. “Some (winter) squash have really delicate skins and they become tender when cooked. You can bake them and eat the whole thing.”

Can you eat squash skin raw? ›

The short answer is yes, you can eat squash skin. But the experience is more pleasant with certain varieties of squash than others. In terms of safety, the skin is completely fine to consume—this conversation is all down to taste and texture.

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