News and Notes from The Johnson Center
Family and Food: Winter Squashes
JCCHD | Wed, August 15, 2012 | [Family and Food]
Evidence has been found in caves in Ecuador and other parts of Central America that winter squashes have been planted and harvested for at least 12,000 years. The Spanish explorer Francisco Pizarro discovered squashes on his travels through Peru. He tried to introduce them back home, but they were not very popular. Even the first colonists in early America were not receptive when the natives shared squashes with them; they were so unimpressed, in fact, that most reportedly fed the food to their pigs instead of eating it themselves.
Native to the Western Hemisphere, all winter squashes, and also cucumbers and zucchini, belong to the family curcurbit. Types of winter squashes include buttternut, buttercup, banana, sweet meat, pumpkin, table queen (a type of acorn squash), hubbard, kabocha, delicate, acorn, spaghetti, and cushaw.
Winter squashes are not only very nutrient-dense foods (containing high levels of vitamins A and C), but also have a long storage life and can be stored anywhere from one month (for the table queen variety), to six months for types such as buttercup. When storing squashes, be sure not to place them next to ripening fruits, which naturally release ethylene gas and shorten the storage life of the food.
Winter squashes have a wide range of uses and can be roasted or used as a puree in soups, breads, muffins, pancakes, puddings, and pies. They can also be used as a main ingredient in casseroles, as a substitute for pasta (spaghetti squash), or even as a replacement for potatoes to make fries. Try some of these delicious recipes to try some different varieties of this versatile food.
Curried Butternut Squash and Pear Soup
Ingredients
1 (2 pound) butternut squash
3 tablespoons coconut oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger root
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups chicken broth
2 firm ripe Bartlett pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 1 inch dice
½ cup coconut cream
Directions
1. Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Cut squash in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membrane.
3. Place squash halves, cut sides down, on the prepared baking sheet.
4. Roast in preheated oven until very soft, about 45 minutes.
5. Scoop the pulp from the peel, and reserve.
6. Melt coconut oil in a large soup pot over medium heat.
7. Stir in the onion, garlic, ginger, curry powder, and salt.
8. Cook and stir until the onion is soft, about 10 minutes.
9. Pour the chicken broth into the pot, and bring to a boil.
10. Stir in the pears and the reserved squash, and simmer until the pears are very soft, about 30 minutes.
11. Pour the soup into a blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway full.
12. Hold down the lid of the blender with a folded kitchen towel, and carefully start the blender.
13. Puree in batches until smooth.
14. Return the soup to the pot, stir in the coconut cream, and reheat.
Adapted from: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/curried-butternut-squash-and-pear-soup/detail.aspx
Zesty Vegan Spaghetti Squash
Ingredients
32 ounces spaghetti squash
1 ½ cups sun dried tomatoes (chopped and packed in oil)
1 onion (chopped)
1 cup celery (chopped)
2 garlic cloves (minced)
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
43 ½ ounces tomatoes (chopped)
1 teaspoon fennel seed (dried)
1 ⅓ teaspoon basil
½ teaspoon oregano
Salt
Black pepper
Directions
1. Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker.
2. Cover, and cook on low for 6 – 8 hours.
http://www.yummly.com/recipe/Zesty-Vegan-Spaghetti-Squash-Recipezaar?print=true
Roasted Acorn Squash and Portobello Mushroom Salad with Radicchio, Apples and Pumpkin Seeds
Recipe courtesy Anne Burrell
Ingredients
1 acorn squash, cut into ½ -inch rings, seeded
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
1 pound portobello mushrooms, cleaned and gills removed
1 head radicchio Trevisano, chiffonade
1 cup baby arugula
1 Granny Smith apple, julienned and tossed with 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
3 to 4 tablespoons toasted green pumpkin seeds
3 to 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Pumpkin seed oil, for garnish
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Toss the squash rings with olive oil and salt and bake on a sheet tray in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until the squash is soft and starting to caramelize.
3. Repeat this process with the mushrooms. *Hint - these can be done at the same time! Reserve until ready to use.
4. Toss together the radicchio, arugula, apple and pumpkin seeds in a medium bowl.
5. Dress with vinegar, olive oil and salt.
6. The salad should be dressed and well seasoned but not soggy.
7. To serve: Return the squash and mushrooms to the oven for 2 to 3 minutes, just to warm them up.
8. Place a squash ring on a serving plate.
9. Place a handful of the salad inside the ring. Cut the mushrooms into 4 slices and arrange them, fanned, on the side of the salad.
10. Drizzle with pumpkin seed oil.
http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/12889/ec1632.pdf;jsessionid=AAC2804A8F60FC554989AD405F8C347C?sequence=1
http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/growing-winter-squash-varieties.aspx
http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/winter-squash-101
