Chef Sean Hartley of The Palace Kitchen was out in the field (literally!) at the Jubilee Farm in Carnation, WA cooking up some fall treats for the 2006 Harvest Celebration Farm Tour. What else would Sean cook this time of year but...you guessed it...squash! Butternut Squash Fritters with Blue Cheese and Pumpkin Seeds, to be exact. These babies are available NOW at The Palace Kitchen, but for those who want to give it go in your home kitchen, we’d love to share the recipe.

Butternut Squash Fritters with Blue Cheese and Pumpkin Seeds

1 butternut squash, about 3 pounds
1 small onion, cut into medium dice
2 egg yolks
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Vegetable oil as needed for frying (about 2 cups)

For the garnish:
Crumbled blue cheese
Toasted pumpkin seeds

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Peel the squash (a vegetable peeler works well), cut it in half and scrape out the seeds.

Cut about half the squash into ¼-inch dice and set the remaining squash aside. Toss the diced squash and onion together with a little oil and spread on a baking sheet. Bake until the vegetables are soft, about 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

Cut the reserved squash into large chunks, place in a saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Cook the squash until it is soft, then drain. Using cheesecloth or a large kitchen towel, squeeze out as much water from the squash as possible. Transfer the squash to a bowl, and, while the squash is still warm, stir in the egg yolks, flour, sugar, and salt until well-combined, then fold in the diced onion-squash mixture.

Pour the oil into a wide shallow pan (oil should be about ¼-inch deep) and heat over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, fry one teaspoon of the batter on both sides. Remove from the heat and taste, adding more salt to the batter if needed. If the batter is too thin, add a little more flour.

Drop teaspoonfuls of the fritter batter into the hot oil, adding as many as fit comfortably, pressing each fritter into a disk. When the first sides are golden brown, turn and fry the fritters on the other side. Remove the fritters from the oil, draining on paper towels, then transfer to plates. Top the fritters with a little blue cheese and some pumpkin seeds and serve immediately.

Makes about 35 small fritters.