The Acorn Doesn't Fall...

 

Even though I always looked forward to pumpkin season, for a long time I never really understood what all of the fuss was about when it came to squash. Fellow vegetable enthusiasts seem to flutter and flock and fight over them at the farmers market, but I really only knew how to use the various varieties as a puree. I made soups and risottos, all of which I loved, but none of which seemed to deserve my waking up at the crack of dawn and elbowing my way through the throngs of people clamoring for a brightly colored squash at the local farmer's stand.

Eventually (and mostly due to my CSA) I learned that so many of the varieties of squash that were unknown to me were not only unbelievably good, but completely worth my time. The first to convince me was spaghetti squash, a miraculous, buttery, canary-hued squash that needs nothing more than a roast in a hot oven to become spectacular. It may look like your average squash, but it does something magical when scraped out onto a plate: the flesh transforms into long, languid strands, not at all unlike its pasta namesake, spaghetti. The texture is similar to al dente noodles, too, and the flavor sweet and mild.

Two other varieties have become frequent ingredients at my house. The first is delicata, another yellow variety whose thin skin is often speckled with green stripes and orange splatters. The flavor is somewhere between butternut and spaghetti squash, mild and very buttery with a silky texture. It's small and elongated, so if you're looking for a quick-roasting squash with great flavor, delicata is what you want.

The other variety I love is acorn squash, the beautiful, deep green squash (pictured above) with the lovely acorn shape. It has tough, deeply flavored flesh that takes quite a while to roast (about an hour), but actually requires very little effort. The dish pictured above is my version of a squash dish I had at Vinegar Hill House in Brooklyn a few weeks ago. Theirs was halved and roasted until it was fall-apart tender, then one half was scooped out and made into a delicate, almost mousse-like puree, topped with roasted and seasoned acorn squash seeds. 

I made mine the same way and it was not only delicious but beautiful, and I must say, an impressive and festive dish that would look heavenly on a Christmas table. I generally try to avoid using the oven when cooking for the holidays because my turkey or whatever I'm roasting generally takes up residence, but if you're bringing something pot-luck style or have multiple ovens or a large oven, I would definitely recommend it. So the next time you see a new kind of gourd at your local market of farm stand, pick one up and give it a try. It's totally worth your time and effort.

Roast and Stuffed Acorn Squash

2 acorn squash, halved and cleaned, seeds reserved
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground clove
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
extra virgin olive oil
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
4 Tbsp unsalted butter 
salt
pepper


1. Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Drizzle squash halves with olive oil and season with cumin, clove, paprika and nutmeg. Season with salt to taste (I recommend being generous since it needs to permeate the entire squash) and place on a baking sheet and roast squash in the oven for 50 minutes to an hour, or until squash is fork tender and soft. 

2. Remove cooked squash from oven and allow a few minutes to cool until you can handle it safely with your hands (you could also do this with potholders on if you're in a hurry). Scoop out flesh from two of the squash halves and place them in a blender (you can do one half at a time if your blender is small). Add stock to blender 1/2 cup at a time until puree is smooth and silky.

3. Remove puree to a pot over low heat and fold in butter, stirring until fully incorporated, and tasting for salt and seasoning. Season remaining squash halves with black pepper and fill with the puree. Serve and enjoy!

-Laura

**Note: you can keep the squash halves that are intact warm in the oven on low heat if you will not be serving this dish immediately.

The Dog Days Are Over

Change is in the air here in New York, and as the breezes turn slightly brisk it's hard to imagine that just last week we were suffering under the brutal rays of late summer sun. The next two months make for happy cooking as the last of summer's bounty meets the goodness of fall. It's one of my favorite times of year to cook, in fact as far as overlapping seasons go, summer's slow creep into fall can't be beat. Sweet corn, zucchini and eggplant are still an overwhelming force at the farmers market, while apples, pears, and a variety of squashes roll in. Bridging the gap between seasons is never easier than with the variety of fruits and veggies available now, and my favorite way to do it is by making soup.

As much as I love squash, I've always felt that it's best in soup. And with the lingering presence of summer squash, plus the recently emerged hard squashes like delicata, acorn and spaghetti, there's no better time to make a great squash bisque that utilizes the best of both seasons. This isn't a roasted squash soup, so there's no need to turn on the oven. I just peeled and sauteed everything (including a large acorn squash) on my stove top and let it simmer away in a golden broth until all of the squash was soft and pliable. A little bit of research led me to the common combination of squash and corn in Mexican cooking, so I was able to bring a little more summer sunshine to the dish. While waiting for the squash mixture to cool slightly before blending it (I've learned the hard way NOT to skip this step) I decided to take the Mexican theme a bit further. I sauteed up a little bit of corn with a touch of olive oil and lots of salt and pepper, then wiped out the pan and dry roasted a few pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds) for a nutty touch and a bit of crunch.

I was really happy with the end result, which was a nice velvety and naturally creamy soup that was both slightly sweet and salty, with a great mouthfeel from the pop of the plump corn and the salty crunch of the pepitas (which are also blended in the soup). A dollop of sour cream on top added some decadence without being overly rich. It's important to strain a soup like this, because squash can often be made up of tough fibers that do not blend completely, and the pepitas can also often not blend completely because they're so small to begin with, giving the soup a grainy quality. A quick pass through a strainer or sieve will really make it a restaurant quality soup, so try to resist the temptation to skip this step. You can even strain it straight into your serving bowls so it doesn't feel like an extra step, or get another dish dirty. I know I'll be making this soup again, and adding a little extra heat as the colder weather draws near (chilies and curry are two options I already know I'll be toying with!). Give it a try and experiment with your own favorite flavors. 

Squash and Corn Bisque with Toasted Pepitas 
1 acorn or butternut squash, peeled and roughly cubed
1 ear of corn, husked, kernels removed and cob reserved
1 small onion, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
2-3 cups vegetable or chicken stock
3/4 cup shelled pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
extra virgin olive oil
salt
black pepper

1. Sweat onions and garlic in olive oil over medium-low heat until just starting to soften (you don't want caramelization, just softening). Add coriander, cumin and paprika and cook, stirring constantly for 20 seconds. Add squash and cook for a minute longer. Add enough stock to just cover mixture, along with reserved corn cob and bring to a simmer. Cook until squash is tender and cooked through. Allow to cool.

2. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a non-stick skillet. Add corn and saute until slightly softened, but still firm and fresh. Remove to a plate or bowl and set aside. Carefully wipe out the skillet with a paper towel and reheat on low. Add pepitas and cook, tossing constantly until browned and crunchy, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and set aside.

3. Once cooled, discard the corn cob and add the squash mixture to a blender or food processor, along with all but 1/3 cup of the pepitas. Blend, adding more stock or water as necessary to thin mixture if it's too thick. Strain soup back into the pot, add corn (reserving a few tablespoons for garnish) and reheat. Serve topped with sour cream and remaining corn and pepitas. Enjoy!

-Laura 

A Farewell To Farms

The weather here in New York has become an exercise in duality, flip-flopping somewhere between gorgeous, bright sunny days demanding the darkest of sunglasses, and dismally depressing rainstorms that flood our poor New Jersey neighbors. Vicious gusts of wind add some extra excitement to the mix, sending broken umbrellas tumbling down the street like miniature fabric zombies. Despite the many sunny days it's hard to get overly excited about the possibilities of Spring when you're doing battle with the elements. As badly as I'd like to embrace the comings of the season, I'm not quite ready to let go of some parts of winter. Strange to hear from someone that raises all hell when winter shows up and does nothing but complain about it, I know, but the truth is that I haven't really been able to exploit the best of what winter has to offer. 

My Winter CSA provided me with an abundance of beets, carrots and various pantry ingredients, including tomato puree (awesome), pickled green tomatoes (a bit of a question mark) and pickled beets (yikes). There were also a few basics like eggs, milk and yogurt, all of which I loved, but in general I was really looking forward to great produce that I could use every day. Instead I got some not so versatile ingredients that were difficult to make shine on their own. I'd hoped for winter greens and a myriad squashes in addition to the multitude of roots I'd received, but none of those showed with the exception of one lonely spaghetti squash. And so I have a deep yearning to take advantage of what I missed of winter, before it's gone. I think I rose fairly well to the challenges of using beets and carrots on an almost daily basis, but now it's time to have a little fun!

Overwhelmed by the urge to experiment with squash on a rainy day last week, I broke with tradition and bought my produce in the supermarket. One acorn squash and a few local apples later I was well on my way to making a delicious squash and apple soup. I was really looking forward to harnessing the sweetness of the squash by roasting it and then combining it with tart green apples. The interesting thing about apples is that when you saute them slowly with onion you get a sort of apple/onion jam. It's sweet and tart and really good smeared on toast with a piece of brie, but even better in a squash soup. If you think that part's easy (sliced onions, chopped apples and a whole garlic cloves slowly cooking down in butter or olive oil), the squash is even easier. Simply cut it into quarters, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of salt, and toss into a hot oven. Roast 30-45 minutes or until soft, and scoop straight into the blender. Add the apple-onion mixture, a little liquid and blitz until smooth. All that's left is to heat it back up and season with salt and pepper.

It's a really great soup with complex and layered flavors. I decided to top mine with roughly chopped walnuts for an extra nutty bite and a bit of crunch, but a handful of toasted pumpkin seeds would be equally delicious (in facts it's what I'm doing the next time). A swirl of olive oil later I had a soup to help me transition between the seasons (this would make a really great cold soup too, especially with a little extra apple). It also helped me come to the conclusion that this will be my final season with a CSA, at least for now. While the summer shares are infinitely better than their winter counterparts, and I so love the idea of supporting a farm and knowing that my money goes directly to it, I also love experiencing the range of the seasons. I love the challenge of using everything in my CSA box, but by tying myself solely to one farm, my culinary version of the seasons reflects only what their farm can provide. By joining a group like Urban Organic, I can get produce (both fruit AND veggies) from a variety of local, organic farms delivered straight to my door, AND I don't lose out on getting organic produce that isn't available in my area, like citrus and other winter fruits. Urban Organic acts as an aggregator for organic produce, sourcing the best products available from local, sustainable farms, while casting a wider net on regional items like the many fruits only available in Florida or California (those are still organic and sourced from family farms and farm co-ops/CSAs). I'm hoping that by becoming part of this organization, I can get a better and more complete feel for the seasons, and have a better overall experience of each one. And maybe one day, after all my griping, winter will end up becoming my favorite food season of them all. Unlikely, but it's worth a try!


Squash and Apple Soup


1 acorn squash (butternut or spaghetti work too), quartered, seeds remooved
2 semi-tart apples, peeled, cored and chopped
1 small onion, sliced
1 garlic clove
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 Tbsp butter
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
extra virgin olive oil
Garnish: chopped walnuts or toasted pumpkin seeds


1. Heat oven to 400 F degrees. Place squash wedges on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil and bake until flesh is soft, about 30-45 minutes depending on the size of your squash.


2. Meanwhile, heat butter, a few teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil, apple, onion and garlic in a non-stick skillet. Cook on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until apples and onions are soft. Remove from the heat and add mixture to a blender to cool.


3. When the squash is done, scoop it into the blender. Add nutmeg and 1 cup of stock and blend until smooth. Continue to add stock 1/4 cup at a time until the soup reaches your desired consistency. Reheat soup before serving, season with salt and pepper to taste and serve topped with chopped walnuts or toasted pumpkin seeds and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Enjoy!


-Laura 

Flash In The Pan

It's rare that I'm ahead of the game where produce is concerned since lately I'm at the mercy of the CSA and our wacky Northeast weather patterns, but it seems that recently I struck gold. During our most recent distribution we got the lovely little patty pan squashes pictured above--not surprising since the weather here in New York just started to turn chilly. They're not all that different from any other yellow late summer or early fall squash, but as you can see, their shape is quite distinctive. They can range in size from fairly small (about golf ball sized) to as large as a softball. My batch was gorgeous and ran the gamut of sizes. Texture-wise they're not like the fall gourds that we call squash (pumpkins, acorn and butternut squash, etc...), instead resembling zucchini or summer squash in both texture and flavor. They're thin skinned and work just as well peeled or not, and they cook up just as quickly as they're summer squash brethren.

If you can find them I'd suggest doing everything from tossing them into pasta with lots of garlic and fresh herbs, to grilling them, or mixing them with other veggies for a tasty vegetarian quesadilla like I did (I sauteed mine with meaty portobello mushrooms and earthy cumin with a pinch of chile powder). They're great on pizzas too, or even blended into a vichyssoise-esque soup with potatoes and leeks, where they can lend a hint of sweetness (serve it hot or cold, your choice). You can even roast them whole or halved in the oven (the little ones are great this way) and served alongside a roast chicken. Or take that roasted flavor and puree it with chicken stock and a potato or two for a warm winter soup topped with stinky cheese and bacon, chive and creme fraîche, or a delicious herb oil. If you like tarts these guys make perfect foils. Slice them thin and fan like you would an apple, only on top of cheese or sauce instead of on a sweet concoction. It could be anything from a bechamel to a tomato sauce or just cream cheese.



They may seem confusing at first, but there's actually a lot to be done with any kind of squash, especially these because their soft texture lends itself to quick cooking techniques. I haven't even mentioned ratatouille or minestrone, but these guys pair really well with tomato sauce and tomato based soups. Try replacing eggplant with patty pans in a vegetarian lasagna and you'll find it works just as well if not better (I prefer their flavor to the often times bitter flavor of eggplant). There's no real recipe today, just a few words on patty pans in case you start seeing them around your market. Don't be afraid to pick some up and experiment--there's way more to be done with them than what I've suggested. And if you do give them a try, let me know what you did--I'd love to hear what other people are doing with them!

-Laura