Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Butternut Coconut Jam

With an abundance of butternut squash thanks to my CSA, I set out to try something different.  A quick perusal of my saved recipes and I found my inspiration.  Butternut coconut jam.  Oh yes.  Grated squash, cooked down to a jam-like consistency?  Awesome.




A unique addition to a cheese plate, this jam goes perfectly well with an assertive cheese.  I tried it with goat cheese, surprising no one :)

crostini w/goat cheese and butternut coconut jam

It also worked well in a pork tenderloin (1lb) that I stuffed with sage (1-2T), butternut coconut jam (1/2c) and gorgonzola (~1/3c).  I didn't write down an exact recipe, but it was similar to this technique.

stuffed pork tenderloin w/roasted brussels, sweet potatoes, onions and cranberries

Some other potential uses for the jam:
     as a cupcake filling
     inside a grilled cheese (w/sage or rosemary, nuts and/or apples)
     stirred into oatmeal
     on top of goat cheese ice cream
     in a fall s'more, between homemade graham crackers and marshmallows



Butternut Coconut Jam
adapted from The Kitch'n
Yield:

1 butternut squash (2-2.5lbs)
2c unsweetened almond milk
1 1/2c evaporated cane juice (or granulated sugar)
1/2c dark brown sugar (mine was unpacked)
1 cinnamon stick
8 whole cloves
2 vanilla beans
1c dried unsweetened coconut

Peel the butternut squash and cut into pieces.  Grate the squash (I used my food processor), or cut into small pieces.  Add squash, milk, sugars and spices into a large, heavy pot.  Split the vanilla beans and scrape out the seeds and add to the squash along with the scraped pods.  Cover and cook over medium heat until the squash is soft and tender (~15min or so).

Once the squash is tender, remove the cover and continue to cook on medium heat, stirring frequently until the mixture is reduced and thick like...  jam :)  Mine took ~1hr or so.  Remove from pan from the heat and stir in the coconut.  Once cool, fish out the cloves, cinnamon stick and vanilla bean pods.  I left the jam as-is as I wanted to retain some texture, but if you prefer a smooth jam mash or puree the mixture.  Store in the refrigerator.



How would you eat this butternut coconut jam?  Check back later this week for another use!

20 comments:

Erica said...

I NEVER would have thought of butternut jam, but what an awesome idea! Bet its so good in oatmeal

Lauren @ Healthy Food For Living said...

This is such a creative use of butternut squash - I love that it pairs well with both sweet & savory dishes!

Fun and Fearless in Beantown said...

I love the idea of eating this in a grilled cheese! Yum!

brandi said...

oh man - this sounds so good and different! and i love the color.

Ranjani said...

Inside a grilled cheese sounds amazing to me!

Kelly said...

This sounds oh so creative and versatile! I'd do a sweet and savory French toast.

Kristen said...

cool idea. i'm salivating over that meal!

Lea @ Healthy Coconut said...

You had me at coconut. I would love to try this jam, you have inspired me to play around with the recipe.

Thanks for the idea. I'm glad that I actually have all the ingredients on hand.

Caratunk Girl said...

YUM. I love the idea of eating this with pork....

Elizabeth said...

Interesting! I gotta check your tomato jam off the list first :)

Pure Ella said...

really? sounds interesting and very fitting for fall still. nice.

Joanne said...

Oh wow I would NOT have thought butternut jam was possible. This is going to have to happen...I'm thinking maybe as the jelly in a PB+J?

Bianca @ Confessions of a Chocoholic said...

I love that you made butternut jam! I would love this in a fall smore :)

Delicious Dishings said...

You are too creative! And goat cheese sounds like a perfect pairing.

Asmita said...

That's very cool. Never heard of butternut jam before. Looks great!

Bridget said...

What a great way to use Butternut squash!! All the ways to use it sound wonderful! Although not gonna lie this made me crave the tomato jam just seeing the word JAM!

Biz said...

I just found a butternut squash I bought a couple weeks ago - I may try this! Love the pairing with goat cheese too. :D

Cara said...

"on top of goat cheese ice cream
in a fall s'more, between homemade graham crackers and marshmallows"

these.sound.heavenly!

Amy said...

What an interesting jam with so many uses!

Kerstin said...

Mmm, this was sooo good! I love your cupcake filling idea too!

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