Squash-a-roo Part II

I know it is a little late coming, but here are some pictures of the squash from the previous post.

Homemade crust, par-baked.

Melty cheese and tart ginger :)

Leaf cutouts are from Williams Sonoma a few years back.

YUM!

Squash-aroo

We headed a bit south to the Farmers Market last week and bought up some of the yummy butternut squash that are out. Ofcourse we made up some of our Roasted Squash Soup for the season.
Much against the FDAs recommendations (ek!) I do can my soup for the winter. I roast the squash, heat it again with the veggies, puree it, water down the soup, reheat it, and then can it under 10 lbs of pressure for 30-40 minutes. I've been doing this for 3 years now and never had a single can go bad. That being said, be careful when canning thick veggies like squash and pumpkins, it is only recommended that you can them in cube form, not puree. I might try some of that with the last butternut squash I have sitting in my cabinet....

Until then we used the other squash up in a wonderful tart recipe that I have. It's really great for left overs and is amazingly sweet and refreshing.

Ginger Squash Tart

1 Par-baked crust

4 c. peeled, seeded, cubed squash (~1 large or 2 small)

4 tbsp butter

1 onion sliced thinly

4 inches ginger, minced

4 eggs

1 c. buttermilk

1 c. gruyere cheese
salt/pepper

Partially bake a pie crust in a pie pan until slightly browning and cooked (about 15 minutes or according to your recipe) Let cool slightly.

In a large saute pan heat butter. Add squash and salt/pepper to coat. Heat for about 20 minutes or until soft. Remove to a large bowl. Let cool and mash till a smooth (or slightly chunky) texture is made.

In same saute pan heat onion and ginger till clear, about 5 minutes. Add to squash mixture, adjust salt/pepper to taste. Whip milk and eggs together, fold into squash mixture with cheese.

Add filling to the crust. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until firm (like a cheese cake)

Let cool slightly and enjoy.

Pumpkin Popcorn

With the turning of the leaves comes the mounds of squash. The are wonderful in soups, roasted, whipped or for decoration. But what about the pumpkins? Oh the pumpkins.

You get them for the carving, but the filling is rarely used. This year, from a tip (thanks mom!) we decided to try roasting them.

Mixed with butter, olive oil, thyme, sage, salt and pepper they were roasted on a pan in the oven till golden, similar to how I roast seasoned nuts. They popped just like corn kernels and tasted amazingly the same! We can't wait to try out different flavors with the next few halloweens to come.

Veggie Shells

Spaghetti Squash! Round three! ding, ding ding

I finally used up all of the Spaghetti Squash in this dish and also used some left over veggies. We are still making headway on our CSA box and try to add something extra to each dish.

Since we're also big meat eaters, I just had to add something besides veggies, but substitute immitation bacon for a veggitarian meal or just leave it out.

I enjoy using my homemade stock in recipes like this, where a thicker liquid helps the sauce and overall taste of the dish. The shells are very light on dairy, I'm guessing you could even cut the cheese and milk out completely and still retain the smoothness that comes from the mashed squash.

Squash Stuffed Shells with Asparagus
1 pkg large pasta shells
2 cups squash, cooked and mashed
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
2 tbsp shredded parmesan cheese
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup chopped Canadian bacon
2 tbsp cup white wine
1/4 cup stock (veggie or bird)
2 tbsp cream or milk
10-15 stalks Asparagus, washed and cut into 2” pieces
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large pot of water with salt, boil the pasta shells to directions until al dente (slightly undercooked). Drain and let cool.

In a medium sauce pan heat olive oil and cook onion and garlic with a little salt through until soft and translucent. Separate 1/2 of the onion mixture into a large bowl with the squash, both cheeses, and pepper; mix well.
Stuff the cooled shells with the mixture and place in a shallow baking dish. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat the remaining onion mixture with the bacon. Add wine and cook down. Add stock and milk heating through. Stir in the asparagus to heat it slightly until it turns a bright green color. Pour over the shells. Add a bit more stock to the bottom of the dish if it appears ‘dry’.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until the asparagus is fork tender and the shell mixture is warmed through.

Spaghetti Squash - freak or fantasy?

My mind is still not made up.
If you’ve never heard of a Spaghetti Squash before, don’t be fooled by its name. While some people will tell you it can be substituted for the true pasta, I found it too tender to hold up to the sauces.
But the flavors are much more robust than some people say. I thought that it was a nice light butternut squash-like flavor with a smoother consistency.

After halving the squash (a sharp knife and a little patience is needed) I scooped out the pumpkin-esc seeds, coated it in extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, and an oregano/thyme mixture. Baking it in the oven for about 45 minutes at 350 yielded a fun stringy squash that I was excited to try out. Like I said, it just didn’t stand up. The flavor was there, but the texture was lacking. It looked like thin Angel Hair pasta which had gotten cut up into small bits.

Now here we are with a 1/2 cooked squash and no ideas….. hum…. I decided to try frying it with Polenta I had picked up that week.

Another mishap, but this time with the Polenta. Again, the flavors were amazing (the sweetness from the fried corn was incredible) but they just kinda fell apart during the frying. I’ve read that letting the Polenta rest in the fridge for awhile will cause it to harden up and then you can cut it and fry it. I think that will be my next effort.

For interested readers, the mixture I used for the Fritters was: cooked Polenta, mashed Spaghetti Squash, a splash of milk, salt, pepper, oregano. I would recommend cooking the Polenta with less water and longer than recommended, mixing with the remaining ingredients, cooling in a small bread pan or some other shape, and then cutting and frying.

Season of Squash

With the abundance of squash during the fall comes a flurry of orange and yellow dishes. My recent favorite features roasted Butternut squash and Louie’s Italian sausage. It was based on a recipe from here, but modified to my personal taste and texture. Again, I used the canned beef broth I made.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Sausage Soup
1 large butternut squash, about 3 pounds, halved, seeds removed
1/2 pound Italian sausage (~3 whole links)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary, chopped
3 cups beef broth
1/2 cup heavy cream, or more to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Lightly coat the squash halves with 1 teaspoon of the olive oil, salt, and pepper on both sides. Place cut-side down on a baking sheet lined with tin foil. Bake until fork tender, about 30-45 minutes, remove from oven and let cool. When the squash has cooled enough to handle, scoop out the flesh and reserve.

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat sauté the sausage till browned, remove and cut into small pieces. Add remaining olive oil to the pan and cook the onions until soft and opaque. Add the garlic, sage and rosemary; cook, stirring, for 1 minute. In a large soup pot, add the onion mixture, cooked squash, 1/2 the sausage mixture, and chicken stock, stir well to combine, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

With a hand-held immersion blender, or in batches in a food processor or blender, puree the soup. Add the cream and remaining sausage pieces. Adjust seasoning to taste and add water till thickness desired.

Serve the soup in bowls, garnished with more chopped rosemary leaves.

Butternut Squash Ravioli

Easy dough recipe

2 eggs

2 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp olive oil

Squash Filling

1 roasted, deseeded squash

1/2 cup cream or milk

1/4 tsp salt

Mix all ingredients in the dough recipe together. Add water till just combined. Knead slightly until the dough forms a ball. Let sit in a covered bowl 30 minutes. Knead with more flour till non-sticky, let cool in fridge for better rolling.

Half and deseed the butternut (or summer) squash. Cover with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast at 350 degrees in oven for 30-45 minutes or until fork soft. Remove, let cool, scoop out filling to a medium bowl. Add cream and salt. Mix well until creamy.

Using a pasta attachment (or rolling pin) roll out a portion of the dough into a long strip. Take 1/2 spoon fills and stager on 1/2 of the strip, leaving the other half empty for folding over. (Don't fill too much or it will leak out when cooking)

Using the whites from one egg and a little water, mix till frothy. Brush between the filling around edges. Fold dough strip over and press firmly between the filling scoops, removing all air pockets. Using a ravioli cutter (pizza cutter will do fine also) trim off the excess dough. Lay ravioli out on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper (they can be frozen at this time for up to 6 months).

Repeat until dough or filling is used up. Will make about 60 raviolis depending on size and dedication.

To cook heat a large pot of water with salt till boiling. Add pasta. The ravs are cooked when floating on the top. Fresh pasta cooks much faster than store bought, so be prepared to remove quickly (about 3-5 minutes).

Recommended to be served with a Pesto Sauce (also can be frozen nicely).