Delicious: Fruits of the Vine
Story by Linda Giuca
As familiar as McIntosh and Red Delicious apples, acorn and butternut squash are like trusted friends. They are easily identifiable, comfortable and dependable.
At this time of year, at farmers’ markets and roadside stands, a world of more unusual types of squash await the adventurous cook. While a green- and cream-striped Carnival or Queensland blue squash may look like a completely different fruit from the acorn or butternut, most varieties are interchangeable in recipes. (And yes, squash is a fruit even if, like the tomato, it is most often prepared and served as a vegetable.)
Winter squash are planted in early summer. The falling temperatures of September and October serve to heighten the sweetness of the flesh, and the tender skin gradually thickens and hardens over the growing season. The tougher skin is an advantage when storing squash, which will keep well into the winter under the proper conditions. Find a cool, dry place such as the garage or a porch, and keep the squash off the floor. The vegetables will be perfectly happy in fall’s cooler temperatures; just don’t let them freeze.
The most difficult part of preparing these hard-skinned beauties is peeling away the tough outer shell. Peeling is necessary if a cook chooses to steam or boil the flesh, perfectly fine methods of preparation. An easier course of action is baking or roasting squash. Not only does this method eliminate the need to peel the squash – cooks simply scoop out the flesh after cooking turns it soft – it also accentuates the vegetable’s natural sweetness.
The process is simple: Line a roasting pan with foil (to make clean-up easier). Cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds and put cut-side up in the pan. Add a pat of butter to each half and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 350 degrees until the squash can be pierced easily with a fork, at least 35 to 45 minutes.
The roasting method is the one preferred by most professional chefs. “Squash has so much water content, you really concentrate the flavor by getting some of the water out of it,” says Matthew Lake, executive chef of the Long Island-based Besito restaurant group, which has a new branch in West Hartford Center.
As autumn progresses, pumpkin and squash appear in appetizers, soups and sauces, and even in a dessert flan. “Like any other chef, I like to use what’s available and what’s in season,” Lake says. Among the varieties, the chef has his favorite – Hubbard squash. “Butternut is pretty standard and easy to find, but given my druthers, I’d rather use something more interesting.”
At the restaurant, Lake chose butternut squash for a creamy puréed sauce that he serves with crab- and tortilla-crusted grouper, although he says that Hubbard or other varieties can be substituted. The chef created the dish as a Day of the Dead holiday special.
At Bosc Kitchen and Wine Bar in Simsbury, chef/owner Rich Lucas sticks with butternut squash for a smooth soup – Butternut, Pear and Ginger Bisque – his choice for the fall menu. Lucas has used blue Hubbard squash as an alternative but prefers butternut for “everything from its richness of flavor, (to) color and accessibility.”
Nicola Maggioni, an Italian chef who oversees the kitchen at Tango restaurant in Glastonbury, incorporates squash into main dishes of meat or seafood. He also prefers the roasting method – “Keep the skin on because it keeps the flavor inside the flesh” – and likes sage and thyme as seasonings.
Although patrons of the Italian restaurant with an Argentinean flair have been treated to dishes such as puréed butternut laced with extra virgin olive oil served alongside grilled scallops, Maggioni also pairs the fall vegetable with lamb. “I think they mix well because they are both sweet,” he says of the herb-crusted rack of lamb served with potato gratin and roasted cubed squash. (For Lake and Maggioni’s recipes, visit www.seasonsmagazines.com.)
With squash season at its peak, it’s a wonderful time to experiment with the distinct and delicious varieties of squash that our New England climate produces in abundance.
Bosc’s Butternut Squash, Pear and Ginger Bisque
4 tablespoons butter
1 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into ½-inch dice
¼ cup white onion, peeled and diced
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 pears such as Bartlett or Bosc, peeled, cored and cut into ½-inch dice
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and minced
½ cup white wine
½ cup vegetable stock
½ cup heavy cream
Melt butter in medium saucepan set over medium heat. Add squash, white onion and salt and pepper to taste, and sauté for 5 minutes. Add pears and ginger to pan and sauté for 5 minutes. Add white wine and vegetable stock. Cover saucepan and cook for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and purée with an immersion blender or in batches in a food processor. Return soup to medium heat and whisk in heavy cream. Cook just until heated through. Serves 6.
On a cool autumn evening, who doesn’t love making squash risotto? Whether you choose butternut or pumpkin, buttercup or Hubbard, the technique is the same. This recipe for pumpkin risotto is a favorite from the 1995 Rogers Gray Italian Country Cookbook. Delicious as is, it can also be used as a template for making endless variations.
Rogers Gray Pumpkin Risotto
1¾ pounds deep-yellow pumpkin or other winter squash, whole, or 1 large slice, with the skin
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch fresh marjoram or oregano leaves
2 garlic cloves, peeled and thickly sliced
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 quart chicken stock
10 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1 medium red onion, peeled and very finely chopped
1½ cups Arborio rice
5 tablespoons extra-dry white vermouth
1½ cups freshly grated Parmesan
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Remove the seeds and fiber from the center of the pumpkin or squash, and cut the flesh and skin into large chunks. Place, skin side down, on a baking pan brushed with a little olive oil. Season squash with salt and pepper, and scatter over the herbs and garlic. Pour over 3 tablespoons of oil, cover with foil, and bake until soft, about 50 minutes. The pumpkin is ready when it has shriveled and begun to brown at the edges. Remove from the oven, allow to cool, then scrape the flesh from the skins and reserve with the juices.
Heat the chicken stock to a low simmer and check for seasoning.
Melt 6 tablespoons of the butter and the remaining olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed sauté pan and gently sauté the onion until soft, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add the rice and, off the heat, stir until the rice becomes totally coated; this takes only a minute. Return to the heat, add 2 or so ladlefuls of hot stock or just enough to cover the rice, and simmer, stirring, until the rice has absorbed nearly all the liquid. Continue to add more stock as the previous addition is absorbed. After about 15 to 20 minutes, nearly all the stock will have been absorbed by the rice; each grain will have a creamy coating, but will remain al dente.
Add the remaining butter in small pieces, the pumpkin, vermouth, and Parmesan, being careful not to overstir. Serve immediately. Feeds 6.
This novel version of an autumn dessert crisp was found at www.AllRecipes.com. “Any variety of squash can be used in this recipe,” the editors note. “You can even mix and match, combining winter squash, pumpkin, butternut, or acorn squash to make 4 cups.” Online reviews suggest cooks reduce the quantities of spice unless they like a strongly seasoned crisp. One reviewer substituted white flour (roughly 1½ cups) for the whole wheat flour and wheat bran, and the recipe produced the same delicious results.
Autumn Apple-Squash Crisp
4 ½ cups butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 3/4-inch chunks
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
2 teaspoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cloves
4 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and shredded
1 cup raisins
Topping:
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup wheat bran
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
½ cup melted butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9- by 13- inch baking dish.
Pour about 1 inch of water into the bottom of a pan. Place the squash into a steamer basket fitted into the pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium, cover, and steam the squash until tender and easily pierced with a fork, about 15 minutes. Cool.
Place the squash, 2/3 cup brown sugar, ½ cup all-purpose flour, eggs, milk, vanilla, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is smooth. Pour into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the apples, carrots, and raisins until evenly blended. Spread the mixture over the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
For topping: Mix together the rolled oats, wheat bran, 1 cup brown sugar, ½ cup whole wheat flour, and 1 tablespoon cinnamon with the melted butter in a bowl until crumbly. Spoon the topping over the apple-squash mixture. Bake in preheated oven until top is golden brown and the apples are tender, 30 to 45 minutes. Serves 10 to 12.
On the pages of her 1995 cookbook classic Roasting, food writer Barbara Kafka offers this recipe for adding flavor to a simple roasted buttercup squash.
“These small, dark green squashes, deeply ribbed, with a paler green top knot like a brioche, may be dappled with orange,” she writes. “Cut across into slices, they make a pretty and unusual roasted vegetable. Slicked with a little fat and sprinkled with salt and pepper, they are simple and good. Add a little more fat and more seasonings, and it’s a standout. While I have used chili powder to season the slices when serving with roast pork, good alternatives are ground cumin, ground anise to accompany fish, or a little bit of ground cinnamon and nutmeg to go with southern Mediterranean food.”
Kafka recommends roasting at a very high temperature – 500 degrees F. Do not try this unless your oven is clean. (You may alternately roast the squash at a lower temperature. Just increase the cooking time.)
Roasted Buttercup Squash with Chile Oil
1 whole buttercup squash (1 pound), halved, seeded, and cut across into 16 slices
3 to 4 tablespoons canola or other neutral oil
1½ teaspoons chili powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Peel squash slices with a sharp paring knife.
Place rack in center of oven. Heat oven to 500 degrees.
Place slices in a 12- by 8- by 1½-inch roasting pan. Combine oil, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Toss with squash slices. Roast for 5 minutes. Shake pan to turn pieces.
Roast 5 minutes more. Shake pan again. Roast 5 to 10 minutes more until squash is tender.
Serves 3 to 4 as a side dish.
More Squash Recipes from Our Local Chefs
The following recipes, which include squash preparations, were referenced in the autumn 2009 editions of Seasons magazine. Besito’s Piscado Con Jaiba y Calabaza (Grouper with crabmeat and pumpkin) is the creation of Matthew Lake, executive chef of the Long Island-based Besito restaurant group, which has a new branch in West Hartford. The Roasted Rack of Lamb with Herb Crust, Potato Gratin and Roasted Butternut Squash comes from Nicola Maggioni, an Italian chef who oversees the kitchen at Tango restaurant in Glastonbury.
Besito’s Piscado Con Jaiba y Calabaza Grouper
1½ cups coarsely ground fried blue corn tortillas
2 tablespoons chopped fresh epazote (see note)
½ pound jumbo lump crab meat, drained well and shredded fine
Salt, to taste
4 8-ounce boneless grouper filets, skin removed
2 eggs, beaten
Combine the ground tortillas, epazote and crab in a mixing bowl. Mix by hand until well blended. Taste crab crust and season with salt to taste. Brush the top of the grouper filets with the beaten egg. Top each filet with the crab crust, coating well. Cover the filets and reserve.
Pipian verde
4 cups toasted pumpkin seeds
3 roasted and peeled jalapeños (*see note)
1/4 of a white onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic
Water
2 cups heavy cream
1 bunch cilantro, pureed
Salt, to taste
Combine the toasted pumpkin seeds, jalapeños, white onion, and garlic in a blender. Cover with water and puree until smooth. Place pipian in a saucepan and add the cream. Simmer over low heat until mixture is heated through. Remove from heat and add pureed cilantro. Season with salt to taste and reserve.
*Editor’s note: To roast jalapenos, set chilies on highest oven rack under a preheated broiler or on a grill. As the heat blackens the jalapeno skin, rotate the chili until all sides are blackened. Remove jalapenos from heat and place in a bowl. Cover bowl with a plate and wait until chilies cool. (This helps steam off the skin.) When cool enough to handle, peel away blackened skin. Discard chili stems, and, if less heat is desired, remove seeds.
Atole Calabaza
3 cups fresh corn kernels
3 cups fresh orange squash such as butternut
2 tablespoons white onion
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 cup heavy cream
3 cups water
4 tablespoons masa harina (corn flour)
Salt to taste
In a saucepan sauté the onion and garlic in a little vegetable oil. Add the fresh corn and squash and continue to sauté. Add the water and the cream. Simmer till corn is cooked. Puree till smooth in a blender. Place the puree back in a saucepan, bring to a light simmer. Wisk in the masa harina and continue to cook to sauce consistency. Season with salt to taste and reserve.
Chayote Salad
1 chayote squash, roasted, peeled and julienned
1 red pepper, roasted, peeled and julienned
3 ears corn, roasted and kernels removed from cob
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Fresh lime juice, to taste
Salt to taste
Combine squash, red pepper, corn and cilantro. Season with salt and fresh lime, and set aside at room temperature.
To assemble the dish, preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large ovenproof sauté pan, heat 1/4 cup vegetable oil, and add the grouper filets crust side down. Lightly brown the grouper, turn the filets and brown on the other side. Place the filets in the oven to finish the cooking.
On 4 warm serving plates, coat half the plate with the pipian and the other half with the atole calabaza. Put 1 grouper filet in the center of each plate, crust side up. Top the grouper with the chayote salad and serve. Serves 4.
Note: Look for epazote, a Mexican herb, in Hispanic grocery stores or at a spice shop such as Penzey’s in West Hartford. The Besito chefs recommend Maseca brand corn flour, also available in Latin grocery stores.
Tango’s Roasted Rack of Lamb with Herb Crust, Potato Gratin and Roasted Butternut Squash
Lamb:
1 rack of lamb
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon chopped rosemary
Malbec reduction:
1 bottle Malbec wine or other full-bodied red wine
A few whole peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 to 3 tablespoons honey
Salt to taste
Brush the rack of lamb with mustard. Place in a roasting pan, and roast in a 375-degree oven for at least 10 minutes. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and rosemary, and roast for another 10 minutes or longer, depending on the size of the rack and the desired doneness. The best test of doneness is a meat thermometer: rare, 125 to 130 degrees; medium rare, 130 to 140 degrees; medium, 140 to 150 degrees.Remove meat from oven and let rest for 5 minutes before carving.
To make the malbec reduction: Combine all ingredients except salt in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until the wine reduces and becomes syrupy, about 45 minutes. Add salt to taste.
Potato gratin
2 pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
Salt and pepper, to taste
1½ cups grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup heavy cream
Dash nutmeg, optional
Season sliced potatoes with salt and pepper. Arrange one layer of potatoes in a buttered 9-inch baking pan. Sprinkle with some of the cheese and heavy cream. Continue layering the potatoes, ending with the cheese and heavy cream. Cover pan with aluminum foil, and bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour or until potatoes are tender. Remove foil and bake until top of gratin is golden.
Roasted butternut squash
1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into wedges or bite-size chunks
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 shallots, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
Salt and pepper, to taste
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Heat butter and olive oil in a large oven-proof skillet. Add garlic, shallots and rosemary, and sauté until shallots soften and garlic turns light brown. Add the squash, tossing to coat with butter-oil mixture. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes, and add salt and pepper to taste.
Transfer pan to preheated oven and cook for 10 minutes.
Serve the lamb chops, drizzled with malbec reduction, with a wedge of potato gratin and a spoonful of squash. Serves 4.
Linda Giuca, the former food editor at The Hartford Courant, is a writer who lives in Deep River. Email her at linda@lindagiuca.com.
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