(no subject)

[coraa]

I have a pumpkin, a butternut squash, and two celebration squash (similar in flavor to acorn squash, a little bit smoother- and harder-fleshed). I ought to do something with them.

I have already made squash soup and pumpkin chili, and have them in the freezer for later, so would prefer not to repeat. (Although if you have a squash-based soup that's different than the usual "mildly spiced, mildly creamy pureed soup" type, that would be welcome.)

What do you like to do with winter squash?

Comments

[oursin]

I don't have the recipe to hand, but I'm pretty sure I found it online, and it was one of Nigella Lawson's, for a pumpkin and butternut squash soup in which one first roasted the main ingredients. I made it and it was very nice.

[ellen_fremedon]

I made a squash tagine with bison kefta last winter which was phenomenally good; I'm waiting for good parsnips to make it again.

[daedala]

We are making pumpkin ice cream! RIGHT THIS INSTANT! We are using canned pumpkin, but I bet it could be done with cooked pumpkin puree.

Ok I am a little excited about the ice cream. :)

[thistleingrey]

Juk! Somewhat like this, except that kabocha ( = hobak) is traditional, not butternut, and I have never used that much sugar, ever. The little sweet-rice balls are optional but nice for chewy texture.

[meaghan_bullock]

I like to roast butternut squash and toss it with cooked pasta, diced red bell pepper, shrimp (if you like them, otherwise chicken) and sugar snap peas, in a homemade goma-ae dressing (ground toasted sesame seeds with mirin and sake and sugar and stuff--if you have a coffee grinder please do use it, doing it with mortar and pestle is an unholy pain!).

Alternatively, pumpkin bread. I love me a thick slice of pumpkin bread for breakfast.

Failing that, have you tried out the suggestions at 101Cookbooks? She has lots of great squash recipes.

[revena.livejournal.com]

I'm a big fan of baking squash and then eating it right out the shell with a little butter, myself! But what about a bread or muffin recipe? You can find a basic squash bread recipe and make it as simple or elaborate as you like by adding in raisins or slivered almonds or whatever else.

[coraa.livejournal.com]

Oh, good idea! You know, I do that with acorn squash all the time and love it, but it hadn't occurred to me to try with butternut. (Celebration squash, alas, is a bit too hard for that to work well.)

[revena.livejournal.com]

I've never had celebration squash. I might have to try it out, though apparently on a day when I'm feeling more creative than my usual approach to squash.

[catbird.livejournal.com]

I do a squash mac&cheese:
1 lb noodles, 2 beat eggs, 1 cooked squash, 14 oz favorite cheese(s) [TJ has a 4 cheese blend which is tasty!]

1 layer cooked noodles, 1 layer cheese, drizzle eggs, 1 layer squash, 1 layer cheese, 1 layer noodles, drizzle eggs, rest of cheese.

Bake @375F for ~30-45 minutes.

Simple and tasty, we've been making it about once a month and this gives us about 8 servings. I love the salty cheese contrasting with the sweet squash!

[ceph.livejournal.com]

Coincidentally, I just ran across this thread about savory squash tarts yesterday. I don't know if those recipes are perhaps too complicated to be worth it, but at least they're something different.

[canis-ridens.livejournal.com]

I've been breading slices of pumpkin and frying them in olive oil; then using them as dippers in a cheese fondue variant. It's "just okay" with the pumpkin; I may try it with butternut this evening.

[rosa-g.livejournal.com]

I really like butternut squash au gratin.

I cook up some onions, garlic and zucchini in a little olive oil. Add in some cayenne pepper and some paprika. Add tomatoes (I'm sometimes lazy and use those in a can, but peeled and seeded tomatoes are best). While this mixture is cooking on medium heat (with some spices.. usually some thyme, a bay leaf or two and some white wine), I peel and chop up the squash, and fry it in a little olive oil until it's just tender. I put all this in a baking dish, layering it a bit like a lasagna, and add a bit of gruyere cheese (you could probably use any melting cheese... but I just <3 gruyere), and pop it in the oven. 15 minutes later you have yummy butternut squash au gratin, lasagna style!

[linley.livejournal.com]

I like to do just the squash and onions part of this recipe as a side dish: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/farro-and-roasted-butternut-squash-recipe.html. I actually do a lot of roasted veggies during colder months, throwing together whatever mix of squash, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips, or other root veggies I have on hand.

A friend and I recently did a squash and turnip gratin. We layered thin slices of turnip and butternut squash in a dish with grated cheese and chopped onion, poured on some milk, and baked until everything was tender. I think that making an actual cheese sauce would have been better, but it was still delicious.

Butternut squash also makes amazing risotto. Cook Arborio rice with onions and garlic and broth as is typical for risotto, then add mashed roasted squash at the end along with some butter and fresh sage. Amazing, I tell you.

Squash and white bean stew: Saute one onion and several cloves garlic in olive oil in a dutch oven or large pot. Add 2 cans cannellini beans, 1.5 lbs squash cut in 1-inch dice, 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, 1 parmesan cheese rind, and 3 cups water. Let simmer until squash is tender and stew thickens, about 15 min. In the meantime, stir together one minced garlic clove, 1 tbsp minced rosemary, 1 tbsp olive oil, and salt in a small bowl. Before serving the stew, discard the parmesan rind and swirl in the rosemary mixture. Serve with toasted baguette slices.

Evidently I am into winter squash. Please tell me about pumpkin chili.

[morganlf.livejournal.com]

We just made this recipe last night and it was wonderful! We used butternut squash and added some other randome veggies. It was super yummy: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/curried-chicken-and-vegetable-pan-roast

[vom-marlowe.livejournal.com]

I really love Maangchi's squash pancakes. I've only ever tried it with butternut, but it's absolutely delicious. It was a huge hit with my family and isn't spicy at all, although I'm sure you could serve it with kimchi. Mmmmmm. Good stuff.

Edited to add link: http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/hobakjeon

I also like to make a mixed roast vegetable with squash, parsnips, carrots, apples if I'm making a roast for Sunday supper.

[paperclippy.livejournal.com]

Cut the squash into small cubes. Preheat oven to 450. Line a jelly roll pan with cooking spray. Put cubes on tray. Spray cubes with cooking spray. Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper. Roast at 450 for about 30 minutes or until they are crisp and golden on the outside and soft on the inside (time depends on how big your cubes are). Eat. OM NOM NOM.

With acorn and buttercup squash, I like to bake them and fill them with cinnamon raisin applesauce.

Here is a post I made on a forum about using squash (I keep typing "Swuash"):

It's squash season and this weekend at the grocery I bought a nice big buttercup squash, which is my favorite variety. It's shaped kind of like a squat green pumpkin with a turban on top, and the flesh is orange and a bit sweeter than acorn squash.

So I had this squash, what did I do with it? Invented my own recipes of course! My plan was to cut it in half and fill one half with dinner and one half with dessert, but I overcooked it and ended up layering the squash on the bottom of a casserole dish and the fillings on top. Tasted just as good, though maybe not as pretty! Anyway, here are the two recipes I invented.

Before starting, you need to cook the squash. I preheated the oven to 400, cut the squash in half and removed the seeds, then placed the squash halves cut side down in a jellyroll pan with about 1/4 inch of water in the bottom and baked. If you bake just until tender, you can still stuff them. I baked mine for 40 minutes and all the flesh just fell out of the skin, so I layered the flesh in a casserole dish. I had a total of 1060g of cooked squash, so I used half for each recipe. That's what my nutritional info is based on, if your squash is a different size it would be different.

Buttercup Squash with Multigrain "Stuffing"

1/2 buttercup squash, cooked
1/2 C royal blend rice (from RiceSelect, it's a brown and jasmine rice mix)
1/4 C quinoa
1/4 C bulgur wheat
1/3 C instant wild rice
1 boullion cube/packed of broth flavoring
2 carrots, diced
2 small apples, chopped
1/4 C dried cherries
1/4 C reduced fat feta cheese
couple shakes of greek seasoning

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Spray a 9" square baking dish with cooking spray. Place the cooked squash in the dish (whether it's just the flesh or the whole squash if you're filling it) and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine the royal blend rice, quinoa, and bulgur (these all take about 15 minutes to cook). Add 1 1/2 C water (or the equivalent amount of required water for whatever grains you are using) and the boullion cube/seasoning packet. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until water is absorbed.

Meanwhile (or afterwards), prepare wild rice according to package directions. Mine was to combine with 1/3 C water, bring to a boil, simmer 5 minutes uncovered, then cover and remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes.

Combine the grain mixture, wild rice, carrots, apples, cherries, and greek seasoning. Spread over the squash or fill the squash with it. Sprinkle feta cheese over the top.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. I did 10 minutes uncovered, and 10 minutes covered with foil. It would probably be better to do the whole thing covered.

Nutritional Info: 353g is 308 calories, 2.3g fat, 66.8g carb (12.5 fiber), and 8.9g protein. That's about 2 1/2C, but I weighed instead of measuring.

Buttercup Squash with Apples and Cinnamon

1/2 buttercup squash, cooked
2 small apples, sliced
1 1/2 C unsweetened apple sauce
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 C dried cherries
cinnamon to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 9 inch square baking dish with cooking spray and place squash in the dish (whether it's just the flesh, or the whole squash to be filled).

Sprinkle the squash with 2 tsp brown sugar.

Combine the apples, apple sauce, cherries, cinnamon, and 1 Tbsp brown sugar in a bowl. Spread over the squash or fill the squash with it.

Sprinkle the remaining 1 tsp brown sugar over the top.

Cover and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until bubbly and the apples are tender.

Nutritional Info: 194g is 129 calories, 0.2g fat, 33.2g carb (7.2 fiber), and 1.4g protein. 194g is about 1 C, but I weighed instead of measuring.