The Hunger Struck - Confessions of a Food Fanatic.

Several weeks ago I bought a huge butternut squash and because I’m somewhat indecisive, it has been sitting on my counter untouched ever since. I found myself staring at it everyday, uninspired by the thought of making soup or roasting it as is, just bored of my usual recipes. Bored, bored,  bored.

What to do?

After a few weeks I decided that it was time to search around a bit and hopefully get inspired by what others have made and maybe find something that is a bit out of the ordinary from me. Something sweet like muffins but better, it definitely had to be better than muffins.

Well I didn’t have to search long before I found the answer tucked away in the 2006 archives of La Tartine Gourmand. The second I read Squash Harvest Loaf I was captivated and knew what had to be done.  Sometimes all it takes is a quick glance through the ingredients of a recipe to feel completely confident about how it will turn out. Pureed roasted butternut squash + buttermilk + Roasted Pumpkin Seeds, Pecans, Walnuts… what could go wrong?

You guessed it: absolutely nothing. So if you find yourself in need of some squash inspiration, or are just looking for something beautiful, uncomplicated and completely fall inspired, this is the recipe for you. There is nothing better than a a slice of this with a cup of tea to warm up a cold Sunday afternoon.

Harvest Squash Loaf – recipe adapted from La Tartine Gourmande

2 cups roasted butternut squash puree

1/2 cup walnut halves

1/2 cup pecan halves

1 cup pumpkin seeds

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar

1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar

4 eggs

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1  1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1  1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 cup canola oil

3/4 cup buttermilk

Roasting the butternut squash:

Cut the squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds – I roasted them with the nuts and then added them to the loaf. Place squash halves into a rimmed baking sheet with a 1/2 cup water and roast at 375 f for at least an hour – this was closer to 1 1/2 hours in my oven.

Once the squash is soft allow it to cool for a bit before you scoop out and puree in a food processor.

You will use 2 cups of the puree for this recipe. Save the remaining squash in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

For the loaves:

Place your nuts into a rimmed baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool before roughly chopping them into smaller pieces. Reserve 1/4 cup of the chopped nuts for decorating to tops of the loaves.

Turn the oven down to 325 for baking the loaves.

In a large bowl sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Add the nuts and seed (reserving a 1/4 cup for decoration) to the flour mixture.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine oil, brown sugar and white sugar and beat on medium speed for 4 minutes.

Add the roasted butternut squash puree and continue to mix for another 2 minutes.

Add the eggs one at a time.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and alternate adding 1/3 of the flour mixture with 1/3 buttermilk, folding gently until just absorbed.

Transfer the batter into two oiled loaf pans and sprinkle the remaining nuts and seeds on top.

Bake for 1 hour or until a knife comes out dry when inserted into the center of the loaf. Mine baked for closer to 1 hour 30 minutes.