Jamie Olivers Butternut Squash Muffins Recipes

SUPERB SQUASH SOUP

Steps:

• Peel and finely chop the onions, carrots and garlic, then trim and finely chop the celery. Deseed and finely chop the chilli. Pick and finely chop the rosemary.
• Heat a couple of lugs of olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat, add the sage leaves and fry for 30 seconds, or until crisp, then remove to kitchen paper.
• Place the pan of flavoured oil back on the heat, add the onion, carrot, garlic, celery, chilli, rosemary and a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper, then cook gently for 10 minutes, or until sweet and soft.
• Meanwhile, halve, deseed and rough chop the squash. When the time's up, add the squash and stock to the pan. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes.
• For the croutons, drizzle a little olive oil over the ciabatta, pat it in, then finely grate and press some grated Parmesan on to each side. Place in a dry, non-stick pan and fry until golden on both sides.
• When the squash is tender, whiz the soup with a stick blender or pour it into a blender and pulse to a smooth purée - leave it slightly chunky, if you prefer.
• Season to perfection with salt and pepper, then divide between bowls, placing 2 croutons on top of each.
• Sprinkle with a few crispy sage leaves and drizzle with a swirl of quality extra virgin olive oil, then serve.

SWEET POTATO MUFFINS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases or 15cm folded squares of greaseproof paper, then lightly wipe each one with oiled kitchen paper.
• Peel the sweet potatoes or squash and coarsely grate into a large bowl. Trim the spring onions, then finely slice with the chilli and add to the bowl, reserving half the chilli to one side.
• Crack in the eggs, add the cottage cheese and flour, then finely grate in most of the Parmesan and season with sea salt and black pepper. Mix until nicely combined.
• Evenly divide the muffin mixture between the cases. Sprinkle over the sunflower and poppy seeds, then dot over the reserved slices of chilli.
• Use the remaining Parmesan to give a light dusting of cheese over each one, then bake at the bottom of the oven for 45 to 50 minutes (if using squash, it'll be a bit quicker - check after 35 minutes), or until golden and set.
• These are amazing served warm 5 minutes after taking them out of the oven, and good kept in the fridge for a couple of days. Enjoy 2 muffins per portion.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH MUFFINS WITH CRANBERRIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375F; spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray, or use paper liners; set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• In a separate mixing bowl, thoroughly whisk together the squash, egg, oil and milk.
• Add the wet ingredients all at once into the dry ingredients and mix just until combined; it's important NOT to overmix.
• Fold in the cranberries.
• Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups and bake in preheated oven for 16 to 20 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the centre of the muffins comes out clean.
• Cool muffins on wire racks.

JAMIE OLIVER'S BUTTERNUT SQUASH MUFFINS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
• Place squash in blender/food processor and finely chop.
• Add remaining ingredients to blender/food processor and process until combined.
• Fill muffin tin with mixture.
• Bake 20-25 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Cool on a wire rack.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH MUFFINS WITH A FROSTY TOP

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line your muffin tins with paper cups.
• Whiz the squash in a food processor until finely chopped. Add the sugar, and crack in the eggs. Add a pinch of salt, the flour, baking powder, walnuts, cinnamon and olive oil and whiz together until well beaten. You may need to pause the machine at some point to scrape the mix down the sides with a rubber spatula. Try not to overdo it with the mixing - you want to just combine everything and no more.
• Fill the paper cups with the muffin mixture. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Check to see whether they are cooked properly by sticking a wooden skewer or a knife right into one of the muffins - if it comes out clean, they're done. If it's a bit sticky, pop them back into the oven for a little longer. Remove from the oven and leave the muffins to cool on a wire rack.
• As soon as the muffins are in the oven, make your runny frosted topping. Place most of the clementine zest, all the lemon zest and the lemon juice in a bowl. Add the sour cream, icing sugar and vanilla seeds and mix well. Taste and have a think about it - adjust the amount of lemon juice or icing sugar to balance the sweet and sour. Put into the fridge until your muffins have cooled down, then spoon the topping onto the muffins.
• Serve on a lovely plate (on a cake stand if you're feeling elegant, or on a rustic slab if you're more of a hunter-gatherer type!), with the rest of the clementine zest sprinkled over. For an interesting flavor and look, a few dried lavender flowers or rose petals are fantastic.