Winter Squashes
By Cat, Sept 11, 2016 (Photo, right, from Wikimedia Commons)
The ripening of winter squash and pumpkins is a colorful sign of fall, and I celebrate the arrival of their sweet flavor to the season’s menus.
Buttercup Squash on Kitchen Counter
Buttercup squash (right, from Wikimedia Commons) is a nutty-sweet and flavorful member of the pumpkin family. Like the acorn, its sides are green, and it usually has a yellow or orange patch on one side. Some varieties grow a turban at the top; the fatter the turban (where the seeds cluster), the sweeter and riper the squash. It is my favorite squash, and is one of the first of the winter squashes to ripen in NW Montana where I live.
A good substitute for buttercup is acorn squash, which also has green sides with a yellow or orange patch on one side.
Butternut squash
Butternut (right, from Wikimedia Commons) is sweeter than the buttercup or acorn squash.
Check out a related recipe: Baked Winter Squash
These recipes are for baking or roasting the squash in the oven.
- See also: 1. Sides Menu; 2. Herbs & Spices: Curries; 3. Winter Squash (About); 4. Caramelized Butternut Squash with Rosemary;
- Includes: 1. Squishy (Mom’s Roasted Buttercup or Butternut Squash); 2. Spicy Roasted Butternut Squash;
Squishy (Mom’s Baked Acorn, Buttercup or Butternut Squash)
Mom gave this dish the name “Squishy” after she made it from a friend’s recipe. When she tried to pick up one of the sections, it just fell apart into a squishy mess. She altered the recipe by changing the spice from cinnamon to cardamom, a favorite spice of Danish culture.
Ingredients & Equipment:
- 1 buttercup squash
- 1 Tbsp real butter
- unrefined sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ground cardamom (or cinnamon/cardamom mix)
- Equipment:
- casserole dish with lid
Method
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds. If desired, cut each half into halves or quarters.
- Place the squash halves or sections face up in casserole dish; add ½ Tbsp butter in each half (or divide the butter between each of the sections). Season with salt, pepper and cardamom (or cardamom and cinnamon), to taste.
- Add lid and place into oven to bake for 30 minutes or until soft. Remove lid for last 5 minutes of baking.
- To serve:
- If you used halved squash, scoop out the meat of the squash (from the skin) into a bowl and mix.
- If cut into 8 sections, serve as is, with more butter.
Spicy Roasted Butternut Squash
Adapted from recipe by Linda Smith, from Mercola’s recipe blog (2). Depending on the size of the squash, this recipe serves 2 – 4.
Ingredients & Equipment:
- 1 butternut squash
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 1 ½ tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste
- Pinch of unrefined sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp curry powder or garam masala
- Fresh leaves of thyme (optional)
- Equipment:
- baking sheet
Method
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds. If desired, peel and cut into cubes for faster cooking time.
- Combine the melted coconut oil, red pepper flakes, salt, curry powder and thyme. Rub the mixture on the halved squash. If you cubed it, toss in a bowl with the oil mixture. It is best to do this in a warm part of your kitchen, so the coconut oil doesn’t solidify.
- Place the squash halves face up on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes or until soft. If you used halved squash, coop out the meat of the squash into a bowl and mix. If cubed the squash, serve as-is.
Caramelized Butternut Squash with Rosemary
Butternut Squash
This recipe moved to it’s own post: Caramelized Butternut Squash with Rosemary.
References
- American Farmland Trust: Caramelized butternut squash with rosemary recipe, and photo (action.farmland.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Squash_Recipe)
- Mercola: Spicy roasted butternut squash recipe (recipes.mercola.com/spicy-roasted-buttenut-squash-recipe.aspx)
