Pressure Cooker Squash With Honey and Lemongrass

Recipe from Nathan Myhrvold, Chris Young and Maxime Bilet

Adapted by Melissa Clark

Updated January 25, 2017

Media 1 of 2
Total Time
35 minutes
Rating
4(174)
Comments
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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

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Ingredients

Yield:10 servings

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 1 ½ pounds delicata squash, peeled, seeded and cut into ½-inch cubes (4 cups)

  • ½ lemongrass stalk

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

  • ½ teaspoon baking soda

  • Buckwheat honey or other honey

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 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.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
174 user ratings
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Comments

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.

Donna

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

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!

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.

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Credits

Adapted from “Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking,” by Nathan Myhrvold, Chris Young and Maxime Bilet

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