Peeling butternut squash

[Anngel123]

I had an awful job peeling the hard skin off a butternut. Anyone know of any tricks to peel without losing half the flesh? Many thanks in advance :)

[mrs_overall]

I use an ordinary potato peeler

[woofgang]

bake it whole and scoop out the flesh

[Maydup]

As Mrs O has suggested, I peel them with a peeler rather than a knife. I use one of the modern Y shaped peelers and peel downwards.

[Brinjal]

I love butternut squash. I go with woofgang roast then scoop out flesh. I simple adore butternut soup.

[cecil39]

can i suggest that you got a mature squash that the skin had set hard on Anngel, a fresher one would peel quite easily, i have had the same probs with an older one, it is hard to do, next one you buy try digging your thumb nail in to test for softness.

[slinky.kate]

if you bake it whole do you cut it in half and scoop out seeds first,making butternutand pepper soup today

[EcclesCake]

I hate peeling squash because I of the slime that dries on your hands and takes forever to scrub off!!!

And I also find the Y shaped peelers the most efficient when I do do bother to peel them.

As others have said one of the easiest ways is to cut in half, remove seeds and roast and scoop out the cooked flesh. However, this won't suit all recipes.

But easiest of all is to not bother peeling at all, quite a few of the recipes I make with butternut I leave the skin on. I find it helps keep the shape of the cubes which can disintegrate, especially when cooking things like tagines.

If you are making a squash risotto it's a good idea to add the peelings to your stock to get an extra deep squash flavour.

[slinky.kate]

how long will i roast for if i cut it in half

[EcclesCake]

About 45mins at 180C.

You want a bit of caramelisation, ans a knife should slip in easily.

Enjoy your soup!

[slinky.kate]

thank you.x x x x kate

[Anngel123]

thanks everyone for your answers. I usually use it for soup so will try the pre-roasting idea. :)