Winter squash

[haresfur]

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.

[blue_dolphin]

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?

 

[ElsieD]

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.

[Anna N]

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. 

[ElsieD]

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.

[Anna N]

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. 

[ElsieD]

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.

[FauxPas]

 

We got a couple of Mashed Potato squash in our CSA box not too long ago. First time I've run across that variety. 

 

https://olivejude.com/mashed-potato-squash/

 

https://cookfasteatwell.com/how-to-cook-mashed-potato-squash/

Edited October 22, 2022 by FauxPas
to add link (log)

[ElsieD]

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.   

Edited October 22, 2022 by ElsieD (log)

[Okanagancook]

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/

 

 

[ElsieD]

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.

[blue_dolphin]

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.

[liuzhou]

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?

 

冬瓜- Winter Squash

 

Often served in soup.

 

 

Edited October 23, 2022 by liuzhou (log)

[blue_dolphin]

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?

 

冬瓜- Winter Squash

 

Often served in soup.

 

 

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.

[liuzhou]

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.

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

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?

[jedovaty]

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 October 23, 2022 by jedovaty (log)

[chromedome]

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).

[liuzhou]

Interesting (?) recipe for squash risotto with chestnut chilli oil in the Guardian today.

[ElsieD]

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.

[chromedome]

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 October 24, 2022 by chromedome
punctuation (log)

[FauxPas]

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. 

[blue_dolphin]

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. 

 

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

 

Goosebumps:

 

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

 

Lumina - white on the outside, orange inside

 

Ambercup.  I think this one is getting fairly common.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Rascal.  Fun name

 

Speckled Hound

 

Blue Hubbard

 

Porcelain Doll

 

Cinderella

 

 

Edited October 26, 2022 by blue_dolphin
to add Cinderella (log)

[Anna N]

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. 

[ElsieD]

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!¡