Pumpkin may be autumn’s icon, but America’s favorite fall flavor arguably is butternut squash. 

Those little sugar pumpkins — aka pie pumpkins — certainly are cute in their corpulence. Their taste and texture, however, don’t appeal as much as their aesthetic. So food processors figured out years ago that marketing squash as “pumpkin” fulfilled consumers’ culinary expectations while preserving their nostalgia.

The proof is in the pudding … er, pie. Its name synonymous with pumpkin, Libby’s produces 85% of the world’s canned supply, according to a 2016 Epicurious article. The orange flesh in the can, however, isn’t pumpkin at all but rather a proprietary strain of tan-skinned squash most closely related to butternut. The result is a denser, sweeter, more flavorful product in comparison with pumpkin.

Because American lore has assigned such affection to the pumpkin, however, Libby’s doesn’t make the distinction between it and its Dickinson squash, which is all well and good with the FDA. The realm of “golden-fleshed squash,” which includes pumpkin, is conveniently nebulous yet specific enough for the legalities of food processing.

The government even allows companies to combine different squash varieties into one puree to ensure desired flavor and consistency. If one type of squash doesn’t grow well in a particular year, the government’s loose interpretation of “pumpkin” keeps the country in spiced lattes, muffins and holiday pies

But really, we all could be making those recipes with great results using fresh butternut squash. I’m not advocating for abandoning Libby’s, a consistently reliable and conveniently available product. Rather, cooks can view butternut squash through a broader lens. Recently, taking home several stout squashes from some friends’ farm, I’ll try to celebrate the gift in as many dishes as possible.

Butternut squash is a nutritional, culinary darling

It’s not a tall order. Butternut squash has been a food industry darling for about 15 years. A good source of fiber, butternut squash’s balance of natural starches and sugars makes for supremely satisfying wintertime dishes. It’s also an excellent source of vitamins A and D and high in potassium and magnesium.

As its popularity soared, butternut squash came out of its shell, so to speak, and started turning up peeled, seeded and diced in plastic clamshell containers in grocers’ produce departments. The gluten-free trend elevated butternut squash’s status to “spiralized” noodle substitute. Stores that don’t stock it fresh in their refrigerator cases carry frozen butternut squash.

It’s far more economical, however, to break down whole squashes and freeze them at home. The squash doesn’t even require blanching, just packing into resealable plastic freezer bags.

Smooth-skinned, butternut squash readily submits to a vegetable peeler. And its elongated neck is entirely free of seeds. What seeds it has are packed into a small cavity for the squash’s size, unlike the cavernous interiors of pumpkins and their ilk. 

Leftover cooked squash also is well worth freezing for use in another recipe. Simply scoop roasted squash from the skin into a freezer-safe container.

Roasted, mashed squash on hand jump-starts any soup that calls for a pureed presentation. My kids have started coming around to some less-appreciated vegetables in silky-smooth soups like this Spiced Vegetable Soup. With more body and a deeper flavor profile than run-of-the-mill squash soup, it gains some protein from chickpeas stirred in before serving.

But before breaking down all my squash for freezing, I wanted to give it the star treatment in this tart with freshly foraged chanterelles and a from-scratch pastry dough accented with cheese. I added some fresh rosemary leaves to the pastry to cut the richness.

If you don’t have chanterelles, substitute cultivated oyster, shiitake or even cremini mushrooms.

Autumn Mushroom and Butternut Tart

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1/4 cups (9 ounces) shredded white cheddar or Swiss cheese, divided
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into chunks
2 egg yolks
1/2 pound peeled butternut squash or unpeeled delicata squash, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch slices
Olive oil, as needed
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Freshly grated nutmeg and toasted ground cumin, to taste
3/4 pound mixed fresh wild mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
Fresh sage leaves and sliced scallions, for garnish

Preheat oven to 450 F.

To make pastry crust: Place the flour, 1 cup of the cheese and the salt in bowl of a food processor fit with a metal blade. Process for a few seconds to blend, then add the butter. Process for 10 to 20 seconds or until mixture is like fine crumbs.

Using a fork, beat the yolks with 3 tablespoons ice water. With motor running, pour into food processor. Process for about 5 seconds or until dough just comes together.

Crumble dough into an 11-by-7-inch rectangle fluted tart pan with a removable bottom, or a 12-inch round tart pan. Press dough evenly into pan with your fingers, making sure bottom of crust isn’t too thick. Use a fork to prick dough all over.

Press a double-folded piece of foil down into pan. Bake pastry in preheated oven for 12 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 F. Remove foil and continue baking for about 10 more minutes or until crust is a light golden brown. Cool.

Toss the squash with 1 tablespoon of the oil, then season with the salt, pepper, nutmeg and cumin. Spread out on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with mushrooms on a second baking sheet. Roast in preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until tender, then cool for 5 minutes.

Sprinkle 3/4 cup of the cheese in bottom of pastry crust. Arrange roasted squash and mushrooms on top, sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese and bake until cheese is melted, for about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with the herbs and onions.

Serve tart warm or at room temperature, cut into slices

Makes 6 servings.

— Recipe from “Untamed Mushrooms: From Field to Table” by Michael Karns, Dennis Becker and Lisa Golden Schroeder (Minnesota Historical Press Society Press, $25).

Spiced Vegetable Soup

2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
2 large onions, peeled and diced, plus 1 large onion, peeled, cut in half and thinly sliced into half-moons, divided
3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
3 leeks, trimmed, cleaned and finely chopped
3 boiling potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
5 tomatoes, roughly chopped
4 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
3 teaspoons hot-pepper paste, such as harissa
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 (14- to 15- 1/2-ounce) cans chickpeas (reserve liquid plus a couple of handfuls of chickpeas to garnish)
1 large zucchini, finely diced
3 1/2 ounces feta cheese
Herb oil (recipe follows), for garnish

Heat a large saucepan over medium heat and add enough of the olive oil to generously coat base of pan. Add the butternut squash, diced onions, garlic, leeks and potatoes; cook, without browning, until vegetables soften slightly, for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the tomatoes, cumin, cinnamon, paprika and hot-pepper paste; give it all a good stir to ensure spices evenly coat vegetables. Cover vegetables completely with water, add a generous amount of salt (I would suggest at least 4 teaspoons) and black pepper. Stir once more and continue to cook at a gentle boil until squash is tender when poked with a knife, for about 30 minutes.

Puree mixture in a food processor or blender until you get a lovely, even, smooth soup. Once smooth, add the chickpeas and their liquid; stir well.

Adjust consistency of soup with additional water if desired, then taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Cook for an additional 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add the zucchini and cook for a final 20 minutes before serving. This makes about 3 1/2 quarts soup.

While soup is cooking, drizzle some olive oil into a large frying pan set over high heat, and fry the sliced onion until browned and crispy. Add reserved chickpeas and brown them along with onions. Using a slotted spoon, remove onions and chickpeas from pan and set aside.

Pour soup into large bowls (preferably wide, shallow ones), then generously crumble some of the feta on top of each portion. Drizzle a couple of tablespoons of the herb oil into each bowl over feta. Finally, add reserved crispy, fried onions and chickpeas.

Makes 10 to 12 servings.

HERB OIL: In a bowl, combine 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil and a good handful each: fresh parsley, dill, cilantro and shelled pistachios. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and some salt and pepper to taste. Blitz with a hand blender until mixture is finely chopped and has consistency of pesto. If you need to slacken this mixture, add a bit more oil.

— Recipe adapted by the Los Angeles Times from “Persiana,” by Sabrina Ghayour.