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Oh my gosh, there’s nothing like a good squash! In Texas, winter squash shows up in the produce department long before I’m willing to turn on my oven. I keep an eye on the weather forecast, waiting for the first strong cold front to blow through. Once the temperature finally drops, I make up for lost time by loading up my fall menus with winter squash.
While winter squash used to be kind of intimidating, I’ve learned that cooking them is actually quite simple and forgiving. Here’s a rundown on the types of winter squash and some cooking ideas.
Acorn
Yellow, tender flesh can be steamed, baked, roasted and stuffed. Tasty with butter, syrup or brown sugar and spices.
Blue Hubbard
Brilliant orange, nutty tasting, these can be boiled, baked, mashed or pureed.
Butternut Squash
Sweet, orange flesh is buttery smooth when steamed, boiled or baked. Delicious in soups, stews and curries.
Delicata
Succulent yellow flesh tastes similar to sweet potatoes and butternut squash. Great for steaming, baking or stuffing.
Red Kuri
Small, pumpkin-like squash with nutty, sweet flesh. Add to soups, casseroles or gratins.
Spaghetti Squash
Creamy, spaghetti-like flesh can be baked in the skin, scooped out, then tossed with pasta or served cold in a salad.
Turban
Yellow-red tender flesh can be baked, steamed or simmered.
Pumpkin
Small pie pumpkins tend to yield the tender, succulent flesh desired for cooking.
Many winter squash varieties are interchangeable in recipes, with the exception of spaghetti squash. Try some of these classic as well as unique ways to cook with winter squash. Feeling a bit intimidated like I used to be? Start with our Learn to Cook recipes that walk you through the steps.
Learn to Cook: Spaghetti Squash
Learn to Cook: Roasted Butternut Squash
Family Night Chicken with Winter Squash
Butternut Squash and Macaroni Casserole
Golden Glazed Acorn Squash with Brown Sugar and Cinnamon
Winter Squash Stew with White Beans and Kale
Roasted Acorn Squash with Squash Risotto
Rotisserie Chicken with Pecan Gremolata and Winter Squash
Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Herbs
Spicy Spaghetti Squash with Black Beans
Arugula Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash and Prosciutto
Butternut Blondies with White Chocolate Chunks
Do you have a favorite winter squash variety or recipe? What is it?
October 22nd, 2011 at 7:05 pm
Love squash this time of year, especially acorn and butternut. yum!
October 23rd, 2011 at 2:01 pm
New favorite: Butternut squash “fries”.
http://eatlittleeatbig.blogspot.com/2011/10/recipe-for-butternut-squash-fries.html
November 2nd, 2011 at 2:34 pm
Easily the most often wasted byproduct I can think of (at the moment) is the delicious seeds offered by such plants as squash.
It only really takes a few minutes of your time to separate the stringy innards from the squash or pumpkin seeds and prepare them with a little oil and sweet or savory spices to your liking then bake them in the oven until toasted.
I have made a few remarkable, near-no-waste meals this week, one using acorn and another delicata squash. The only unused portion was the knob of a stem and a tiny pile of the stringy mess contained within, MAYBE adding up to 5% unused portion. Not many plants or animals get utilized so fully.
I even used the water from the squash’s roasting pan (essentially squash broth now) as the water to cook my rice for the meal.
I baked my seeds with Sea Salt, Cinnamon, and Sugar to end up with a most rewarding snack/dessert that I feel, in most homes, would have gone in the trash.
I’ve made Salted, Curried, Tamari, the Cinnamon Sugar listed above and surely a few random efforts lost in my memory. ALL WERE WELL WORTH MY TIME!