Jump to content
  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

Winter squash


lindag

Recommended Posts

We go through a lot of winter squash, which we generically call pumpkin here, because we feed it to the dogs, along with their ground meat and brown rice. I usually go for butternut and Japanese pumpkin.

 

The dogs get theirs roasted and may get the chopped up skin. We often put it in a tagine with chicken and red lentils. The red lentils thicken the sauce nicely. Pumpkin soup is nice in limited quantities. We also like pumpkin risotto. A very versatile vegetable.

  • Like 1

It's almost never bad to feed someone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/14/2021 at 10:26 AM, chromedome said:

There's a lot of buttercup grown around here and it's a particular favorite of mine for its relatively dry, "baked potato" texture after roasting, so I stock up on it while the local crop is in full swing. I've got several pounds already roasted, bagged and frozen

I don’t think I’ve used buttercup squash before but I bought one the other day, thinking it was a small kabocha and learning the difference after the fact. I peeled it and roasted in wedges but then read that the peel is edible. It seems less sweet than a lot of winter squashes, which would make it more versatile. 

 Can you say more about your “roast, bag, freeze” process and how you serve it?

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, ElsieD said:

https://whatscookingamerica.net/squash.htm

 

I came across this web site this morning.  I thought some of you might be interested. I'm going out to buy some other squash this afternoon.

Nice article.

Having once tried to separate seeds from fibres and found it a daunting job, I wonder how the suggestion of roasting everything together would work. Sounds very plausible to me. 

  • Like 1

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Nice article.

Having once tried to separate seeds from fibres and found it a daunting job, I wonder how the suggestion of roasting everything together would work. Sounds very plausible to me. 

 

I'll try that.  Thanks for the suggestion, we'll see how it works out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

 

I'll try that.  Thanks for the suggestion, we'll see how it works out.

It’s in the article. 

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So it is.  I didn't get that far as I wanted to look up the various squashes I can get this afternoon at a farm gate and that was all I was interested in when looking at the article.  I'm definitely going to try it.  Thanks for pointing that out.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Today's squash haul from the farm gate.   I got a box that I filled for $22.00.    I paid a small premium for the Turbans. That boxfull is presently residing in the walk-in closet.   

20221022_173155.jpg

Edited by ElsieD (log)
  • Like 4
  • Delicious 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I  remember making a squash risotto from Cooks Illustrated which had you make a broth using the seeds and fibres you took out of the squash.  It was excellent as the squash flavour really came out.  I googled it and found this website with the recipe…https://www.crumblycookie.net/2011/10/27/butternut-squash-risotto/

 

 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

37 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

I  remember making a squash risotto from Cooks Illustrated which had you make a broth using the seeds and fibres you took out of the squash.  It was excellent as the squash flavour really came out.  I googled it and found this website with the recipe…https://www.crumblycookie.net/2011/10/27/butternut-squash-risotto/

 

 

 

That looks really good.  I have saved the recipe.  Thank you.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Okanagancook said:

I  remember making a squash risotto from Cooks Illustrated which had you make a broth using the seeds and fibres you took out of the squash.  It was excellent as the squash flavour really came out.  I googled it and found this website with the recipe…https://www.crumblycookie.net/2011/10/27/butternut-squash-risotto/

 

 

 

Yes! In The Greens Cookbook, Deborah Madison's recipe for Winter Squash Soup with Red Chili and Mint also makes a stock with the seeds, skin, fibers and trimmings from the squash along with some aromatics, etc. and I've been using that trick ever since I first made it, either on the stovetop or by making a quick stock in the Instant Pot.

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Can I clarify something? When you guys talk about winter squash, you mean any of the squashes which fruit in winter, yes?

I'm just a little confused as round these parts we have a specific squash known as 冬瓜 (dōng guā), which literally means "winter squash". It is also known as the wax gourd (Benincasa hispida). Do you get them?

 

2096383348__20221023141723.thumb.jpg.4cb734572b2e1429cc150c5d4e3393cc.jpg

冬瓜- Winter Squash

 

Often served in soup.

 

1064036563_waxgourdsoup.thumb.jpg.d719478203c0b55c22503d50e542ad74.jpg

 

Edited by liuzhou (log)

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, liuzhou said:

Can I clarify something? When you guys talk about winter squash, you mean any of the squashes which fruit in winter, yes?

I'm just a little confused as round these parts we have a specific squash known as 冬瓜 (dōng guā), which literally means "winter squash". It is also known as the wax gourd (Benincasa hispida). Do you get them?

 

2096383348__20221023141723.thumb.jpg.4cb734572b2e1429cc150c5d4e3393cc.jpg

冬瓜- Winter Squash

 

Often served in soup.

 

1064036563_waxgourdsoup.thumb.jpg.d719478203c0b55c22503d50e542ad74.jpg

 


I have only heard that vegetable referred to as winter melon.  Maybe an American corruption of the name. 
 

The link that @ElsieD posted yesterday lists many of the more common winter squashes around these parts, though there are others. 
 

21 hours ago, ElsieD said:

https://whatscookingamerica.net/squash.htm

 

I came across this web site this morning.  I thought some of you might be interested. I'm going out to buy some other squash this afternoon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

I have only heard that vegetable referred to as winter melon.

 

Yes. Same thing. 瓜 can be translated as melon, gourd, squash etc. Everything from cucumber to watermelon is a 瓜 in Chinese. Bitter melon is a 瓜. All 瓜.

  • Like 1

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe a better descriptor would be "hard shelled squash" as opposed to "soft skinned squash" AKA summer squash. I used to keep winter squash under the bed in the upstairs unheated guest bedroom, the perfect cool dry location. Kept perfectly all winter. (The only problem was that I tended to forget about them.) Be sure to buy winter squash with a little stem still attached, and with skin too hard to be punctured by a fingernail. For some reason the little inch of stem is important if you intend to keep them all winter. Maybe it protects the squash from rotting from the stem end?

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1

Formerly "Nancy in CO"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think pumpkin might be another word for the winter squashes and gourds, at least, I've heard it referred to that way in parts of central and eastern europe.

I purchased honeynut squash the other day at the store.  Wow, delicious!

Earlier this year I discovered a recipe on BA that was an egg and dairy free "carbonara".  I tried this for fun, and even made it accidentally vegan by rehydrating dried shiitake mushrooms then frying them until crispy since I didn't have any bacon.  While delicious, it was no carbonara, and if I were to make it again, use a different squash since butternut and kabocha are a bit too sweet.. maybe acorn or spaghetti squash would be better.  Appears to be similar to the risotto posted earlier in this thread.

Edited by jedovaty (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/22/2022 at 10:32 AM, blue_dolphin said:

I don’t think I’ve used buttercup squash before but I bought one the other day, thinking it was a small kabocha and learning the difference after the fact. I peeled it and roasted in wedges but then read that the peel is edible. It seems less sweet than a lot of winter squashes, which would make it more versatile. 

 Can you say more about your “roast, bag, freeze” process and how you serve it?

 

Buttercup is my default winter squash, because it's widely grown in my area. I like it because it (usually) bakes up dry and fluffy, like a baked russet. I can buy a 50-pound bag here directly from the farm gate for $25 or so (I share out a few with the extended family). I generally freeze some as blanched chunks, and keep some whole for a couple of months for cooking fresh. The rest I bake off in one marathon session, scoop from the shells, and bag flat in ziplocs with the air squeezed out. Some smaller bags for use as side dishes, some larger bags which become soups or my "pumpkin" cheesecake at holiday meals (my stepdaughter wants that each time, rather than a pumpkin pie).

  • Thanks 1

“Who loves a garden, loves a greenhouse too.” - William Cowper, The Task, Book Three

 

"Not knowing the scope of your own ignorance is part of the human condition...The first rule of the Dunning-Kruger club is you don’t know you’re a member of the Dunning-Kruger club.” - psychologist David Dunning

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, chromedome said:

Buttercup is my default winter squash, because it's widely grown in my area. I like it because it (usually) bakes up dry and fluffy, like a baked russet. I can buy a 50-pound bag here directly from the farm gate for $25 or so (I share out a few with the extended family). I generally freeze some as blanched chunks, and keep some whole for a couple of months for cooking fresh. The rest I bake off in one marathon session, scoop from the shells, and bag flat in ziplocs with the air squeezed out. Some smaller bags for use as side dishes, some larger bags which become soups or my "pumpkin" cheesecake at holiday meals (my stepdaughter wants that each time, rather than a pumpkin pie).

 

Could you elaborate on blanching the squash?  Time?  Skin on or off?  I'm thinking it might be a good thing to do with my thinner-skinned squash, e. g. delicata.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's nothing "elaborate" about it. :)

 

If the squashes are sound I roast them, and if they have soft/moldy spots I cut those out, cut what's left into wedges, peel them, and then cut them into rough dice (about 1cm, but I'm not overly fussy about it). Then I give 'em a minute or so in boiling water before I dip them out with a slotted spoon or a spider and shock them. Once they're well-drained I'll freeze them on a parchment-lined sheet pan, and then transfer them to a freezer bag or vacuum sealer bag for storage (vacuum sealing is best, but sometimes I'm lazy).

 

Delicatas are relatively smaller and thinner, so they'd necessarily make for smaller dice and would probably need less blanching time. I usually cook those or Sweet Dumplings in real time as part of a meal. A favorite of mine is to use them as a container for shirred eggs: Halve and scoop the squash and then cook it until tender, line it with thin-sliced ham of some sort, then crack in your eggs and add a splash of cream and pop 'em back into the oven. For a less time-intensive version, poach the eggs separately and just spoon them into the squash (or simply make a mound of squash on your plate, press a well into it with the back of a spoon, and add the egg).

 

It's the same kind of sweet-and-savory thing you'd get from having a waffle or pancake along with your egg and ham, but skewed more to savory than sweet (because squash is sweet, but not sugary-sweet if you know what I mean). Also, the yolk oozing into the squash makes it very rich, especially if you melt a pat of butter into the squash first as I do.

Edited by chromedome
punctuation (log)
  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1

“Who loves a garden, loves a greenhouse too.” - William Cowper, The Task, Book Three

 

"Not knowing the scope of your own ignorance is part of the human condition...The first rule of the Dunning-Kruger club is you don’t know you’re a member of the Dunning-Kruger club.” - psychologist David Dunning

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/22/2022 at 11:18 PM, liuzhou said:

Can I clarify something? When you guys talk about winter squash, you mean any of the squashes which fruit in winter, yes?

 

Winter squash includes varieties that are usually harvested in the Fall (longer growing season than summer squash) and after curing (hardening the shell), will keep into the winter. Summer squash won't keep that way and needs to be eaten relatively soon after harvest. Winter squashes are keepers - can be eaten several months after harvest. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I stopped by a local farm to pick up a few squash this morning.  I got a small kabocha, a couple of delicata and a carnival.  I think they're all pretty common.  

I snapped a few photos of several varieties that were less familiar to me. 

This one is called One Two Many Pumpkin.  It's a white pumpkin with colorful veining.  Normal pumpkin color on the inside. 

IMG_3857.thumb.jpeg.ac32f9268cd2351e014dd312019d89dc.jpeg

 

Red Warty Things.  Yes, that's really the name.

936766729_IMG_3843(1).thumb.jpeg.db5b6fbad8a47d4eb18d46b55b352ee7.jpeg

 

Goosebumps:

IMG_3855.thumb.jpeg.ec9a183387173e47e84adc928b5f1797.jpeg

 

Galeasux d'Eysines.  I thought this was one of the most unusual, both in name an appearance!

494482862_IMG_3848(1).thumb.jpeg.e6aee12a2e69eff99db8b47cec95d1a5.jpeg

 

Lumina - white on the outside, orange inside

IMG_3850.thumb.jpeg.9d8c3cb50709d3c18edeb6bb5d2e3b7b.jpeg

 

Ambercup.  I think this one is getting fairly common.

IMG_3851.thumb.jpeg.4ac8f078f6bfcd92278187bbe93b4355.jpeg

 

Jarahdale.  These were quite striking, almost looked like they were glowing.

1789323127_IMG_3849(1).thumb.jpeg.16e0604db4da95c7c69fe14fe2a3b753.jpeg

 

I managed to capture the sign for these but there are some other squashes photo bombing the photo.  These were very lumpy and blue. 

1673055556_IMG_3844(1).thumb.jpeg.178103f37f3d0b28e4912ea585ed97a6.jpeg

 

Banana squash.  My photo doesn't capture how massive they were. Maybe in comparison to those normal sized acorn squash on the left. 

IMG_3853.thumb.jpeg.bde5995ad7598aa5485f6fd9a0449cbf.jpeg

 

Rascal.  Fun name

IMG_3845.thumb.jpeg.64b5079cfa65423b85cad7dfa8a06a58.jpeg

 

Speckled Hound

507281919_IMG_3854(1).thumb.jpeg.0f911a96cb8c0dc922f8c22d0de3974a.jpeg

 

Blue Hubbard

IMG_3847.thumb.jpeg.106f9f2d33b680725c1711c5f52a07b2.jpeg

 

Porcelain Doll

IMG_3856.thumb.jpeg.0ec9898359bb4ab828f9792b188b7e8a.jpeg

 

Cinderella

2228850_IMG_3846(1).thumb.jpeg.533a71109159eeeeedee8989014d0ed8.jpeg

 

 

Edited by blue_dolphin
to add Cinderella (log)
  • Like 5
  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

I stopped by a local farm to pick up a few squash this morning.

Thanks for a delightful trip through the pumpkin patch. Seems like no matter the outside the price remains steady $.99 a pound! 
I think the taste and texture of acorn, kabocha and butternut squash are distinctive I wonder about the others. 

  • Like 3

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/22/2022 at 6:21 PM, Okanagancook said:

I  remember making a squash risotto from Cooks Illustrated which had you make a broth using the seeds and fibres you took out of the squash.  It was excellent as the squash flavour really came out.  I googled it and found this website with the recipe…https://www.crumblycookie.net/2011/10/27/butternut-squash-risotto/

 

 

 

I made this tonight for dinner.  I thought it was terrific John thought it great at the beginning but a bit too sweet by the end.  I used homeynut squash, next time I'll use a squash that is not as sweet.  I adapted the recipe for the IP and that worked nicely.  Thanks for the recipe @Okanagancook

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...