Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 2: Basic slicing technique
• Method 2 of 2: Meat Pumpkin Dishes
• Tips
• Warnings
• What do you need

Butternut squash is a winter vegetable known for its sweet, nutty flavor. It tastes like sweet potatoes with an even more delicate texture. This oblong-shaped vegetable is not difficult to process, you need to practice a little and it doesn't take much effort.

Steps

Method 1 of 2: Basic slicing technique

1. 1 Sharpen your knife if necessary. Since butternut squash is very hard and slippery, it is very important to work with a sharp knife. A dull knife can slip off and cut yourself. Use a massive, heavy slicing knife.
2. 2 Cut off the top. Place the pumpkin on a large cutting board. With one hand, grip the thicker end of the pumpkin, with the other hand cut about 1.2 cm from the thinner end, right at the stem. The cut must be clean and smooth.
3. 3 Cut off the base of the pumpkin. With one hand, grip the narrower end of the pumpkin, and with the other hand, cut approximately 1.2 cm from the opposite end.
4. 4 Peel the pumpkin. Now is the time to peel the pumpkin. Use a vegetable knife, or if you don't have one, use a very sharp knife.
   • Place the pumpkin on the wider end. Hold the top of the pumpkin with one hand, and with the other hand, peel it with a knife, making vertical stripes.
   • You can also hold the pumpkin with one hand and use a vegetable peeler to strip horizontally while peeling
5. 5 Cut the pumpkin in half. Place the pumpkin on the wide end. Stick a knife into the center of the top and cut the pumpkin in half. Make one clean cut.
   • Sometimes it is not easy to cut a squash in half as it is dense and tough. In this case, tap the knife with a rubber mallet to help cut through the pumpkin flesh.
   • If this method doesn't work, you can use a serrated knife and cut the pumpkin in half.
6. 6 Remove seeds and fibers. Use a metal spoon to remove seeds and sticky fibers from both pumpkin halves. The seeds can be left and fried.
7. 7 Divide the halves in half. Place both halves on a cutting board, cut side down, and divide them in half. You should now have 4 pumpkin pieces.
8. 8 Cut the pumpkin pieces lengthwise into long, longitudinal sticks. The thickness of the sticks depends on the recipe. Basically, it can be from 1.2 to 2.5 cm.
9. 9 Cut the longitudinal sticks in a crisscross pattern. You can leave them in longitudinal stripes, or you can cut them across to make cubes. ...
   • If you want to save a little time, then put several pieces of pumpkin on top of each other and cut them at the same time. If you use this technique, be careful not to let the pieces slide off, otherwise your cubes will end up unevenly shaped.
   • Remember that the smaller your pieces are, the faster they will cook. Determine how large the chunks should be for your recipe.

Method 2 of 2: Meat Pumpkin Dishes

1. 1 Make baked butternut squash slices. To bake them, season the cubes with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake the slices in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. When the pieces are soft on the inside and brown and crispy on the outside, you can take them out of the oven.
   • Add salty spices such as cumin, ground red pepper, or cayenne pepper for a savory dish.
   • Add sweet ingredients like brown sugar, maple syrup, or agave nectar for a delicious treat.
2. 2 Make butternut squash soup. This soup has a silky, creamy texture and is perfect to warm up on a winter evening. To make soup, follow these steps:
   • Bake the pumpkin slices in the oven until tender.
   • At the same time, sauté diced onions and a few chopped garlic heads in olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
   • Add the butternut squash and 1/4 chicken or vegetable stock.
   • Let the liquid simmer, then lower the temperature and cook for 20 minutes.
   • Add salt and pepper to taste, then whisk in a blender.
   • Serve with cream and black pepper.
3. 3 If you want to skip the pumpkin peeling process, you can bake the whole pumpkin and then cut it open. Pierce the entire surface of the pumpkin with a fork, place it on a baking sheet and bake at 170 degrees Celsius. Bake the pumpkin for an hour, until it softens. Take it out of the oven, let it cool, then cut it into pieces.

Tips

• For easy peeling of the pumpkin, use a vegetable peeler with carbon steel blades. Such a knife will be able to peel even the roughest skin.

Warnings

• Do not start cutting the pumpkin until you are sure that it is completely stable. If the pumpkin moves while cutting, you can cut yourself with a sharp knife.

What do you need

• Butternut squash
• Sharp and massive knife
• Vegetable peeling knife
• Cutting board
• Rubber hammer (optional)
• Metal spoon