Spicy Sweet Roasted Kabocha Squash

I thought about roasting the whole squash this way. I ended up roasting the slices 15 minutes on one side, and 10 minutes on the other. A few of the edges of the thinner slices burnt, so a total bake time of 25 minutes is too much. Maybe 10 minutes on each side might suffice. Smashing the whole squash against a concrete step worked really well in opening it.

Prep to make Roasted Squash

Ingredients

1/2 small kabocha squash, washed and seeded
3 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Slice the kabocha squash into 1/4" slices.

In a large bowl, sprinkle spices on top of squash. Add sesame oil. Toss squash to coat. Add soy sauce and toss again.

Lay slices out in a single layer on a silicone mat-lined baking tray.

Roast for 10 minutes on each side. Flip slices and rotate the tray at the 10 minute mark.

Roasted Kabocha Squash Slices

Baked Delicata Squash

The very first time I tried delicata squash, I didn't realize how sweet it was. Savory herbs and earthy spices pair well with this. For the amount of prep work, I have to cross it off my list of potential vegetable dishes for Thanksgiving unless I can find helpers to peel the squash and scrape out the seeds. I ate this squash in one sitting. You know that myth about vegetables having bulk to make you feel more full? I think it's still a myth. I could certainly eat another.

I did not preheat the oven.

Ingredients

1 delicata squash, peeled, seeded and chopped
olive oil
five spice powder
ground thyme
sea salt, to taste

Directions

Toss squash chunks in olive oil then spread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle spices and salt on top. 

Bake at 375 degrees F for 40 minutes. 

Serve hot.

Kitchen Note: About that Squash

Since November I had a couple of squashes sitting on my kitchen counter. The butternut squash sat in the corner and pretty much looked as though it could have sat there for a few more months before showing any signs of degradation. The kabocha squash, on the other hand, lost its beautiful greenish-orange hue and turned into an unappetizing color. But, it too fared well for how long it sat around doing nothing. 

Now, the butternut squash has a mildly sweet taste to it and traditionally I just halve it, scoop its seeds out and bake it up with a drizzling of olive oil and brown sugar. With the kabocha squash I wanted to simulate deep frying, but since the rind cured to a very hard texture, I couldn't slice it with the knives I had on hand. In fact, I couldn't remove the stem at all before baking. Instead, I stabbed it repeatedly with a chef knife to hasten its baking time.

I ended up tossing the roasted flesh of both squashes into a slow cooker and cooked it into a nice winter soup. There is still something amiss in the flavor, but the smooth, soupy texture is there.

Ingredients

One kabocha squash, roasted (seeds, strings and rind removed)
One butternut squash, roasted (seeds, strings and rind removed)
1 quart organic chicken broth
random spices: ground lemongrass powder, garlic powder, thyme, paprika
sea salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. On a rimmed baking sheet, scoop out seeds and place halves of a butternut squash cut-side down and drizzle lightly with olive oil. On a second rimmed baking sheet, halve or stab a kabocha squash. Bake both at 400 degrees for an hour. Let cool before handling. Scoop out the flesh from both squashes and put into the bowl of a slow cooker.

2. To the slow cooker: add chicken broth, spices, salt and black pepper. Cook for 8 hours on low. Blend together with an immersion blender. Serve hot.

3. If it is too thick, thin the soup with more broth.

Makes 3 quarts.

Delicata Squash

What? That makes two of us. I never heard of it either. This was just another (random) winter squash picked up from the farmers market. I had to look at image galleries of squash available in the Pacific NW before matching the name to this one. I've read that it is an alternative to butternut squash; I suppose other food bloggers are suggesting that it is the next best thing for preparation and how it is used.

Photo: Delicata Squash

I am preparing this tonight with two recipes. The first is a baking method, 375 degrees F for 40 minutes; with the peeled de-seeded squash halved and filled with olive oil and brown sugar. One and a half squashes were used since that's all that would fit in the 8" x 8" baking pan. That would mean that I have a total of three of these strange squashes to use as tonight's vegetable. 

The second is a frying method proposed by Jerry Traunfeld, author of the Herbfarm Cookbook. The Herbfarm, a Woodinville restaurant, is curiously just five miles away (I wasn't aware of that either until today). I suppose my version of the recipe will have taste like it has a lot less sage and a lot more rosemary since I am only using what I have on hand. It may turn out to be sweeter than normal since the spiced apple cider I'm about to use is what is leftover from Thanksgiving. Traunfeld's recipe calls for two squash, with the assumption that each squash is about a pound each.

Delicata Squash with Rosemary, Sage, and Cider Glaze (Epicurious, March 2000)

1 1/2 delicata squash, peeled, de-seeded, and cut into 1/2" thick pieces

3 tbsp unsalted butter

1 tbsp fresh sage, minced

1 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced

1 1/2 c fresh apple cider or juice

1 c water

2 tsp sherry vinegar

1 tsp kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a skillet over low heat. Add herbs and cook until butter just begins to turn golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Do not brown the herbs.

2. Add squash to the skillet, then add apple cider, water, vinegar, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat until the liquid has reduced to a glaze and the squash is tender, 20-30 minutes. Taste and season with pepper.

Zucchini and yellow squash fritters

Aye ya. Two terrible dishes in the same day. I must not be in sync with the universe today. I'm told that if yellow squash isn't ripe (as if anyone can tell just by looking at it), the squash can be bitter. I don't think this would have tasted any better if I made it into something else. Why would it be for sale at a produce stand if it weren't ripe? Maybe farmers can't even tell when the yellow squash is ripe during harvest season...

This is a typical fritter recipe. You have a shredded ingredient, say a potato, zucchini, carrots, or squash, or any combination of ingredients, say clams or crab meat, add it to a flour-based batter and fry it up.

The base of the fritter usually involves some mixture of water, eggs, flour, and sometimes baking powder. The baking powder supposedly makes the fritter more crunchy; though, it didn't do much for this batch. If I were to do this recipe again, I'd definitely omit the yellow squash. Ugh.

Ingredients

2 small yellow squash, grated

1 medium zucchini, grated

1 carrot, grated

1/2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 egg, lightly beaten + 1 tbsp water

salt, to taste

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

olive oil, for frying

Directions

1. Grate vegetables and stir in 1/4 tsp of salt. Let this sit for 10 minutes, then with cheesecloth or with your hands, squeeze out and discard the excess liquid from the vegetables.

2. Lightly beat an egg, salt, and freshly ground black pepper; stir this into the vegetables.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder.

3. While stirring, sprinkle in the flour to the egg/vegetable mixture. It should be slightly runny, like a batter.

4. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Drop batter by rounded tablespoonfuls into the hot oil. Fry on each side until lightly golden brown. Remove fritter from heat and repeat with the remaining batter.

These would probably taste good with a light sauce or sour cream.

Curry Butternut Squash Soup

Autumn is when a lot of squash varieties are in season. Butternut squash is one of my favorites because it can be roasted pretty easily with brown sugar and olive oil, it can be deep fried as a vegetable (if it is sliced thinly enough), and it can be made into a nice and hearty soup.

Ingredients

One butternut squash (approx 3 lbs), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1" pieces
1 qt organic chicken broth
1 organic medium carrot, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 tbsp curry powder
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. In a stockpot, melt butter and olive oil together over medium heat. Add carrot, garlic, squash and curry powder. Let vegetables sweat for a few minutes, then add the broth. Bring soup to a boil and simmer over medium heat until squash is tender, 20-25 minutes.

2. Using an immersion blender or regular blender, pureé the mixture until smooth. Season with sea salt and black pepper, to taste. Serve while hot.

Note: If you like onions, a medium chopped onion can be added when the garlic and carrots are added. Let the onions caramelize in the oil before adding the squash and curry powder.

Pumpkin Soup

Somehow I think a regular jack-o-lantern pumpkin would be better for this recipe than a sugar pie pumpkin. But, most squash-like objects will work for this soup in lieu of the pumpkin. Butternut or acorn squash seem likely suspects as a substitute. This recipe is fairly generic, with the exception of steaming the raw pumpkin instead of baking it. I like to steam pumpkin since it cooks much faster. If you wanted to make this vegan, you can always omit the butter and replace the chicken broth with a vegetable broth.

You'll find that fresh cream or crème fraîche (not really the same dairy "product") just adds to the robustness of the flavor and does very little to thicken the soup. Often I find that restaurants put way too much cream into the soup. Anyhow. Cheers!

1 small pumpkin
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 cup shallots, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 medium rose or yukon gold potatoes, cut into chunks
3 1/2 c. chicken broth
a sprinkling of salt, pepper, nutmeg, dried oregano (to taste)
crème fraîche or fresh whipped cream (optional)

Cut pumpkin into quarters or halves and remove the seeds and fibers. Steam in a steamer for 45 minutes or until malleable. Let cool. Scrape pumpkin meat into a bowl and set aside. Discard the rind.

Melt butter and olive oil in a large pot on medium heat. Add diced shallots and sauté until the shallots turn slightly translucent (about 2 minutes). Add the pumpkin flesh, cubed potatoes, and chicken broth.

Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30-40 minutes. Using an immersion blender, purée soup until smooth. Season the soup to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Serve with a dollop of crème fraîche and/or a toasted wedge of French or sourdough bread.