Butter Pecan Pumpkin Souffle ~ if you put nothing down on the dinner table but this light and fluffy, sweet and crunchy casserole I wouldn’t feel slighted in the least.  As long as you let me have seconds :)

This Butter Pecan Pumpkin Souffle is fluffy, sweet, crunchy, earthy, and utterly irresistible.  I guarantee it will be a huge hit at the holidays. but honestly I love it so much that I make it for special dinners throughout the fall.  Why would we want to save something this good for only one or two nights a year?  That’s insane.

One of the things that makes this side dish so incredible is that it starts from a whole pumpkin.  The whole darned thing goes into the oven for an hour and comes out soft and ready to be pureed into the fluffy base for this souffle.  Could you use canned pumpkin?  Probably, but you’d miss out on some great flavor, and the drama of roasting a whole pumpkin.

For an alternative, try doing this with butternut squash, or sweet potatoes, either the orange or the yellow variety: Butter Pecan Sweet Potato Casserole.

The easiest (and healthiest) way to cook any winter squash ~

• Preheat your oven to 375F
• Place the whole squash on a baking sheet
• Pierce the squash in several place with the point of a paring knife
• Roast for about an hour or until tender: until the the paring knife slides into the flesh easily.  Small squash might take less time, larger squash will take longer.
• Let it cool slightly, then slice the squash open into wedges and scoop out the seeds. (Save them to roast ~ here’s how.)
• Peel off the skin (it comes off easily) or scoop out the flesh with a large spoon, and the squash is ready to use.

So I know it looks a little scary when you’ve got the whole pumpkin splayed out on the baking sheet like this, but trust me, the seeds etc scoop out super easily and you’re left with perfectly cooked flesh, it’s pure gold.  This process is SO much easier than trying to peel, chop, and boil a rock-hard winter squash.  PLUS it’s much healthier: all the nutrients stay in!

To assemble this butter pecan pumpkin souffle I begin by pureeing the pumpkin with some brown sugar, buttermilk, eggs, and my secret ingredient (freshly grated nutmeg, what else?)  Then the fun, i.e. the butter pecan topping, begins…

I admit that once you top the pumpkin casserole with the decadent butter pecan crumble it does veer into the dessert lane.  That’s ok, the holidays are only here once a year, so go for it.  And if you want to healthify it, just halve the volume of crumble.

I’m crazy about this side dish, guys, I hope you try it this year.  I have a feeling that if you do, it will become part of your holiday routine going forward, it’s that good.

What else is on my holiday menus this year ~

Fragrant Toasted Almond Pilaf

French Potato and Onion Gratin

Pink Applesauce