Winter squash recipes

[fifi]

My son is going to his sister's in DC for Thanksgiving. There will be a gathering of about 10 friends. He has signed up for a side dish. He is thinking something that screams fall and he is a winter squash fanatic. He has gotten as far as acorn or butternut squash and chestnuts and is stuck there. So am I. Rather than a casserole type dish where the squash is mushed up, he is thinking cubes of squash and chestnuts tossed with something. HELP!

[MatthewB]

No chestnuts but--ever since I came across it--I've been doing a version of this for Thanksgiving.

[fifi]

Good one MatthewB! That looks really interesting. My son is good at adapting a recipe and this one looks like a good starting point. He is also more into the savory side. I kept having trouble with the squash and something not sweet.

[Jinmyo]

I like to use a bit of chiles with squash as heat and sweet balance each other.

[Mottmott]

It may not be fancy enough, but unpeeled winter squash cut into pieces and roasted with oil, garlic, and herbs is wonderful. I do it alongside various other vegetables (roots, eggplant, zucchini, etc, always including onions). For Thanksgiving I'd try to get the imported cippollini.

It's good at room temperature as well as hot.

[Jaymes]

My favorite is winter squash stuffed with sausage and baked.

[Brad S]

Take some acorn squash and cut them in half and scoop out the seeds.

Cream some unsalted butter with a touch of brown sugar and rub this on the flesh of the squash.

Place them in a walled oven pan with a little water on the bottom,cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.

Let cool,then make a chestnut/wild mushroom custard and fill the cavities of the squash.Put back in your oven wrapped again for 15 minutes then uncover for 15 minutes more, or until the custard sets. Clean some sage leaves then deep fry them for garnish.

[Mottmott]

...Let cool,then make a chestnut/wild mushroom custard and fill the cavities of the squash.Put back in your oven wrapped again for 15 minutes then uncover for 15 minutes more, or until the custard sets. Clean some sage leaves then deep fry them for garnish.

That step really gilds the lily. I often bake squash with brown sugar or maple syrup, but your stuffing sounds scrumptious. I'm going to give it a try. Do you prefer any particular squash for this?

[Brad S]

...Let cool,then make a chestnut/wild mushroom custard and fill the cavities of the squash.Put back in your oven wrapped again for 15 minutes then uncover for 15 minutes more, or until the custard sets. Clean some sage leaves then deep fry them for garnish.

Do you prefer any particular squash for this?

I use Acorn squash for this preparation.

I hope you enjoy it.

[Nick]

Unpeeled Buttercup seeded and cut toward the center about 1/2" at the outside. Place on a rack in a pan with a little water in it. The idea is to have the squash steam during the first part and then the water boils off and then it's roasted tender squash. Oven somewhere between 350 and 400. Would probably work with Acorn, but Buttercup are the best - depending on who's garden they came out of.

[Schneier]

No chestnuts but--ever since I came across it--I've been doing a version of this for Thanksgiving.

Wow. That looks really good. I'll make it for Thanksgiving, too.

Thanks.

Bruce

[megc]

It may not be fancy enough, but unpeeled winter squash cut into pieces and roasted with oil, garlic, and herbs is wonderful. 

Roasted winter squash is wonderful. Even though I don't particularly care for fall and winter here in the east (I'm a warm weather spring/summer person), it does mean winter squash season is here, which is good. I have found that I really like delicata squash, which is smaller and kind of torpedo shaped. The nice thing about it is that you can eat the peel, so you don't have to remove it. That being said, I still like to dispose of the peel, as it's easily removed with a vegetable peeler. I remove the seeds and then cut the squash into small (1/2 inch) cubes, and combine it with peeled and halved garlic cloves, a bit of diced red onion, thyme (fresh or dried), extra virgin olive oil, and salt. I put it in a covered casserole dish, and bake it for about 1h20 at 400 degrees. The squash carmelizes along with the garlic and onions, especially evident in those pieces that happen to lie against the side of the dish. The squash just about melts in your mouth. I've made this for a number of die-hard anti-winter-squash people, and they love it. It is so delicious!

[tryska]

i'm a big fan of honey and butter for both squash and chestnuts. that's just me.

[ianeccleston]

Not exactly a side dish, but I've served a squash soup with coriander as a first course for thanksgiving, from an old issue of food & wine. Unfortunately, they don't have the recipe up online anymore. It's pretty easy to fake though:

Sautee 1 onion or a couple sliced shallots in 2-4 tbs butter

Add 1 lb of fresh peeled, seeded squash (most any kind - I've used delicatas, butternut, pumpkin & a funky red one from the farmers' market), sautee

add 2 tsp of ground coriander & 2 pinches thyme

add chicken stock to cover, 2 whole garlic cloves and simmer until very tender

puree

plenty of salt

adjust thickness with additional chicken stock or water (not thin, not goopy)

garnish: fried sage leaves or chopped cilantro or scallions

Ian

[tanabutler]

My favorite thing to do with butternut squash is to make a cream soup with shiitake mushrooms and a slight curry.

[curlywurlyfi]

I usually go the rosemary/garlic route when roasting squash but sage sounds delicious, thank you Brad S! Ginger + chilli goes well too, especially if you then sprinkle the roasted cubes with some crumbled feta cheese. Squash is also good stuffed with some sort of riff on wild rice/bacon/onion/bay leaf/mushrooms. And indeed chestnuts.

[SobaAddict70]

Roast squash as normal with EVOO and herbs/garlic/spices -- this will work with either Hubbard, acorn or other type of squash -- but not pumpkin (as I find pumpkins too watery). Let cool, scoop out flesh and seeds. Reserve seeds for another use or discard. Dice flesh and set aside.

Roast garlic cloves until softened. Let cool, squeeze out cloves, and set aside.

Saute thinly sliced red onion or Bermuda onion with unsalted butter and EVOO over medium-low heat, cook until onions are caramelized. Add garlic (I recommend two or three cloves worth, although you can certainly add as much as you want). Salt and pepper to taste. Add squash, cook until heated through. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Working in batches, puree squash mixture in either a food processor or blender and return puree to pan. Add a bit more EVOO, season to taste, and stir to incorporate. Serve as a sauce to accompany pasta. This is divine, topped with shaved Parm-Reg or with a few drops of white truffle oil.

------

Alternately, you can make a pizza with squash. Replace tomatoes with slices of roast squash, rub with EVOO and top with fontina or other cheese, sprinkle with herbs.

Soba

[fifi]

Many thanks to all for the great ideas. I am getting hungry for squash.

[=Mark]

I like to cook halved & seeded acorn squash cut side down in a covered cassarole to which a couple cups of water and about half a cup of sherry has been added. Cook at 350 until nearly done, then uncover, flip to cut side up and add a tablespoon of butter and a a few grinds of black pepper to each half. raise oven to 400 and cook another 10 minutes or so. Have at it!

[Alex]

No chestnuts but--ever since I came across it--I've been doing a version of this for Thanksgiving.

Wow. That looks really good.

It certainly is. I made a big batch several days ago. It's good reheated or even right out of the fridge.

[=Mark]

No chestnuts but--ever since I came across it--I've been doing a version of this for Thanksgiving.

Wow. That looks really good.

It certainly is. I made a big batch several days ago. It's good reheated or even right out of the fridge.

9 bacon slices, chopped

Homer Simpsonesque "Mmmmmmmmm... Bacon!"

[bloviatrix]

About 4 years ago there was a recipe in Gourmet for Moroccan-spiced Roasted Vegetables.

It calls for shallots, red peppers, butternut squash and sweet potatoes and tossed with a combination of cumin, corriander, and cinnamon. The vegetables carmelize, and the warm spices give it a very nice flavor.

Plus, this is large recipe - it serves 12 which is great if your son is cooking for friends.

[marie-louise]

Not a side dish, but as long as we're on the subject of favorite winter squash dishes, a Winter Squash Galette is one of my favorites. It was last night's dinner and today's leftovers. It's very rich, if you want to serve it as an appetizer, serve very little slices.

For 1-2 cups roasted squash, add 1/2 chopped onion that's been sauteed w/ a few chopped fresh sage leaves, the cloves from a head of roasted garlic, and 4 oz. grated cheese (I like Gruyere.) Sometimes I also saute a few chopped fresh shiitakes along w/ the onion. Mash it all together, season w/ salt & pepper, spread it onto a 12-inch disc of pie crust dough, fold over the edges as you would any galette, and bake at 400 until done.

I also like stuffed squash. I make mine w/ sausage, sauteed apple, sauteed pear, onions, and raisins or Craisins. But that's rich enough for a whole meal, so that wouldn't work either.

I usually just make pureed squash when asked to bring it as a Thanksgiving side. You can make it right before you go, put it in a gratin pan, then reheat it for a few minutes right before dinner.

[agnolottigirl]

Here's a most excellent thing to do w/acorn squash--totally brainless and is pretty much a meal in itself:

Cut (either in half lengthwise, or just cut off the top and a thin slice off the bottom (so it can sit upright in a baking dish) 'em, scoop out the guts, put a little oil or butter on there, and bake until fairly tender.

Pull 'em out, then stuff them with the following mixture:

Cottage cheese

Gruyere, Emmenthal, or other good melting cheese

Chopped onion

Chopped apple (tart is best--granny smith or something)

Raisins

Cinnamon

Stick them back in the oven until everything is warm and sweet. Mmmmmmm.

[SethG]

Unpeeled Buttercup seeded and cut toward the center about 1/2" at the outside. Place on a rack in a pan with a little water in it. The idea is to have the squash steam during the first part and then the water boils off and then it's roasted tender squash. Oven somewhere between 350 and 400. Would probably work with Acorn, but Buttercup are the best - depending on who's garden they came out of.

I saw some buttercup squash today, and bought them with your post in mind, Nick, but I'm not sure I understand your directions. You halve the squash in order to seed it, yes? And the make, what, several 1/2" cuts around the perimiter of each half? And then I presume you place them in the pan with the cut side up?

Do you like to top them with anything in particular?

Thanks.