Wheelbarrow full of Hard Squash

[Free Martha]

I have a bumper crop of Acorn, Butternut and Delicata Squash.

Last night I "Batali-ized" it in a scorching hot cast iron pan, finishing it with Olive oil , Balsamic vinegar sauteed onions and fresh basil. What should I do with it tonight ?

[Gifted Gourmet]

My standard prep for acorn squash in the fall is to cut them in half, remove seeds, steam them in a pan in the oven, fill halves with a mixture of cranberries, apples, citrus zest, and sugar ... always receives raves ...

[beccaboo]

Zucca agrodolce's good: peel, seed, and slice (1 cm thick or so) the squash, then fry the slices in a little olive oil, turning once,so that both sides are getting brownish. Arrange the slices on a platter and sprinkle them with chopped mint and thinly sliced garlic. Add a couple of tablespoon each of red wine vinegar and sugar, and a little salt and pepper, to the frying pan. Cook till it starts to thicken, then pour over the squash. Serve at room temp.

This casserole's good, too: Peel, seed and dice the squash (any size dice you want, but the smaller, the prettier) and toss with salt, pepper, minced parsley and garlic, and a little flour (maybe 3 T for a medium butternut squash). Spread into a greased, shallow pan, dribble with olive oil, and bake in a medium oven till it's soft and getting to be a nice color, 45 minutes or so.

Edited October 6, 2004 by beccaboo (log)

[reesek]

roasted squash ravioli with brown butter and sage is wonderful, but time consuming. if you did decide to undertake this - you can freeze uncooked raviolis - just lay them on a sheet pan dusted with semolina and freeze until frozen - then transfer to a freezer bag.

a sweetish mash is good with pork - roast (or steam) peeled cubes until very tender. i roast, because i like a little caramelization. i stick a pear into the oven to roast about halfway through and run them both through a ricer. add some hot butter, regular or coconut milk and serve. i like this on the thin side - more of a puree than a mash.

soups are wonderful - thick pureed curried squash, chunky minestrone with cubes of squash...

i also like roasted squash over fetuccine with thyme or oregano and crumbled feta.

[jsolomon]

I'm with reesek. I tend to put acorn and butternut squash in my winter soups that I also put ham hocks into. They just love each other.

Those soups are on "the list".

[andiesenji]

My standard prep for acorn squash in the fall is to cut them in half, remove seeds, steam them in a pan in the oven, fill halves with a mixture of cranberries, apples, citrus zest, and sugar ... always receives raves ...

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It should indeed receive raves, it sounds delicious. Most of my squash are still in the in-between stage, not quite ready to harvest, the tendrils at the stem end are still fat and green. Have to wait until they turn brown and shrivel up before picking. I have several varieties - I forget just which as I don't get out into the big garden. I know there are some butternut and golden acorn. There are also a couple of Hubbards, one blue and one orange because they are growing next to and on the fence and I can see them from the deck on that side of the house.

They are so tough-skinned they have to be cut on the band-saw.

[andiesenji]

I am back - - I saw one of my neighbor's sons out in the field picking tomatoes, and went out to the fence and asked him if he could find a squash that was ready to pick. He found a couple of butternut and a very large banana squash that was hidden in the leaves. It is almost 2 feet long and about 8 inches in diameter so I sent him home with it so he can cut it up and bring me just a portion of it. They really should cure for a few days, but this one had already dropped off the vine so it has had time to cure.

I'm going to go ahead and roast the squash in foil, after brushing with oil. That will give me a nice batch of cooked squash that can be used in various recipes.

Oh boy, he just brought me the hunk of banana squash and a turk's turban squash he found in the corner next to their yard. It will keep so I don't have to do anything with it right away.

With squash such as those with the "bowl" shape, I carefully cut off the top, then pre cook them until the flesh is nearly tender, then let it cool till just warm.

Meanwhile I prepare a savory egg custard, usually adding finely crumbled bacon or finely chopped ham, then pour the custard into the squash (also do with pumpkin), return it to the oven (I set the squash in a round pan, usually a cast iron deep skillet) and bake until the custard is set.

I wrap the top in foil, brushed with oil, and bake it also but don't put it back on the squash until ready to present.

It makes a really nice appearance. The colorful turk's turban squash are particularly attractive done this way. A lot of people buy them just to use a table centerpiece because for some reason they think that they are like a gourd, however they are very sweet and tasty.

[purplewiz]

I've been enjoying Delicata the following way:

Peel, seed, chop into cubes. Put cubes into a baking dish, shake on some chipotle powder, drizzle just a little honey over (or more if you like it sweeter, I just use a few drips), dot with butter, cover with foil, bake at 400F. I usually stir about halfway through, but sometimes I forget. My husband, who was convinced the only way to eat hard squash was cut in half and packed with brown sugar and butter, has requested that this be on the menu again.

I was also thinking these seasonings would be good in a puree.

Marcia.

[Pitter]

Cut in half, scoop out the seeds, then bake them facing down with whole cloves of garlic in the cavities. When fully soft and carmelized, scoop the flesh from the skins, mash them with the roasted garlic (squeezed from their skins), chopped fresh sage, and swirl in some fresh goat cheese.

Also, my favorite soup is with butternut squash and yellow split peas. Saute in butter or oil some chopped onions and garlic, ground cumin, corriander , mustard seeds and turmeric, add said butternut squash, yellow split peas and stock or water. Cook until everything is soft. Puree with a stick blender. Then, and this is Most Important, sautee in butter or oil a tsp each of cumin seeds, mustard seeds and ground corriander with some brown sugar, then while sizzling, add it as a garnish on each bowl of soup. Also garnish with some fresh, chopped corriander.

Clear as mud? My friends always laugh at my instructions -- some of this, a little of that. I am trying to improve my ability here, but I never use recipes.

[lperry]

Butternut squash is really nice in risotto. It's a good cool weather dish, I think. You can also use butternut in the place of pumpkin in pretty much any recipe including pie. A butternut pie made with a roasted squash is fantastic. Also, my latest Food and Wine had a nice recipe from Mario Batali for cavatelli with spicy winter squash. You might need to get one of those cute Villaware cavatelli makers, but hey, everyone needs more gadgets .

[eunny jang]

Butternut squash is really nice in risotto. 

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Yes, yes, yes! Roast squash in 1/2 inch cubes, make the risotto with a really good chicken or veal stock, and stir in the squash along with plenty of fresh sage and cheese. Man, oh man.