Wednesday, December 13, 2023

December 14, 2023 - This Week's Box Contents Featuring Tetsukabuto Squash

 


Cooking With This Week's Box

French Onion Cheese Bread
Photo from www.foodiecrush.com
Tetsukabuto Squash:  

Red & Yellow Onions:

Porcelain and/or Italian Garlic:  

Japanese & Orleans Sweet Potatoes:  
Egg Yolk Stuffed Latkes
Photo from www.foodnetwork.com

Russet or Peter Wilcox Potatoes:  

Rainbow Carrots:  

Celeriac:  

Green Savoy Cabbage:  
Vegetable Lo Mein with Cabbage and Mushrooms
Photo from www.hipfoodiemom.com
Crispy Oven Baked Egg Rolls

Kohlrabi or Black Futsu Pumpkins:  

Baby Beets:  

Beauty Heart Radishes:


Beet Risotto with Goat Cheese
Photo from www.platingsandpairings.com
Well Friends, we’ve made it to the end of the season. Thirty boxes of delicious, certified organic vegetables harvested, packed, and delivered. What a privilege and a pleasure this season has been! As we close out the season, I hope you enjoy this final selection of recipe inspiration as you cook your way into the winter and a season of rest. This week’s featured vegetable is a late season selection, Tetsukabuto Squash. Like so many selections throughout the year, we’ve chosen this vegetable specifically for this part of the season because it is known for its storage potential.  It’s also a very versatile squash and may be used in sweet and savory dishes.  So this week’s featured recipe is a Kabocha Squash Pie with Black Pepper & Ginger (See Below).  Enjoy this with holiday meals or just spice up a cold winter evening with this tasty creation!  If you’re not feeling the pie concept, check out this recipe for Kabocha Squash Curry with Chickpeas.

What are you going to do with all these root vegetables? Well, just because its winter doesn’t mean we’ve retired the “salad” concept.  Turn your carrots into a simple Shredded Carrot Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing or this 5-Minute Ginger Soy Carrot Salad.  Use the celeriac to make Celeriac and Apple Remoulade.  And those gorgeous beauty heart radishes? How about this Beauty Heart Radish Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette or a Beauty Heart Radish and Sesame Seed Salad.

Turn this week’s head of cabbage into a filling for these Crispy Oven Baked Egg Rolls or if you want something super simple, try this recipe for Vegetable Lo Mein with Cabbage and Mushrooms.  And for something fun to try on the weekend, check out this recipe (and video) for Egg Yolk Stuffed Latkes.  

Ok friends, it’s time for me to sign off for the winter.  Think of us as you eat through the rest of your HVF vegetables and know that we will be ready to meet up with you again next spring! Before we know it, it will be time to resume box packing with beautiful bunches of ramps, sweet, overwintered spinach and the first asparagus of the season.  We look forward to growing vegetables for your table again next year. And in the meantime….be well, eat well and have a restful winter. 

Chef Andrea  

Vegetable Feature: Tetsukabuto Squash

Tetsukabuto Squash, what a mouthful! We have saved this squash for this specific week—the final delivery of the season. As with so many of the vegetables we grow for you, there’s a strategy and a reason for why we choose them and where they fit into our seasonal vegetable lineup.  Tetsukabuto squash is a variety that originated in Japan. The name actually means “Iron Helmet.”   It does resemble a helmet, and the “iron” part comes from the fact that it has a durable skin that serves to protect it during storage. This variety is a hybrid developed in Japan. It’s a combination of Kabocha squash and Butternut.  It has a deep, orange flesh that is rich, sweet, flavorful, and decadent. One interesting fact about this squash is that its flavor actually improves with time in storage, another reason we saved it for the end of the season!

Tetsukabuto squash may be used in any recipe calling for kabocha squash but may also be adapted to recipes calling for Butternut squash, or the like.  Its rich flesh makes it a great candidate for using to make baked goods, such as this week’s pie recipe, along with quick breads, muffins, cookies, and other desserts. It also shines nicely when featured in curries, soup, and stew. Of course, you can also keep it super simple and just bake it, turn the flesh into puree and eat it with a pat of butter!

Store your Tetsukabuto squash at room temperature until you are ready to use it. You should be able to store it for several months but keep your eye on it and if you notice a bad spot starting to form, that’s your cue that it’s time to eat the squash!  


Kabocha Squash Pie with Black Pepper & Ginger

Yield: 8 servings

“A creative twist on a classic pumpkin pie recipe, this kabocha squash pie is flecked with chipotle chili powder, black pepper, and ginger.”

Photo from www.brooklynsupper.com
Kabocha Puree
1 large kabocha squash 
½ tsp olive oil
Pinch sea salt
Water, as needed

Dough
1 ¼ cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1 Tbsp sugar
½ tsp sea salt
8 Tbsp unsalted butter, frozen
5 - 6 Tbsp ice water

Filling
1 cup heavy cream, divided
2 Tbsp flour
1 ½ cups kabocha squash puree
3 eggs, room temperature
½  cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp fresh, finely grated fresh ginger
1 Tbsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper , plus more for serving
¼ tsp chipotle chili powder
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
½ tsp sea salt
  1. To make the kabocha squash puree, preheat the oven to 400°F. Cut the woody stem from the top and bottom of the kabocha. Halve the squash and scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff from the center. Rub squash all over with a small drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle with a tiny pinch of sea salt.
  2. Pour 3 Tbsp water in a rimmed baking sheet. Set the squash cut side down, cover tightly with foil, and slide into the oven. Bake until soft, roughly 50 to 60 minutes.
  3. Set aside to cool, then scoop the soft squash out of the peel and into a bowl. Mash with a potato masher; for a smoother texture, puree with a food processor or stick blender.
  4. To make the dough, in a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and sea salt with a fork. Grate in the frozen stick of butter, rubbing butter into the flour with your fingertips until the flour has a crumbly texture. Drizzle in the ice water, mixing just until the dough mostly holds together. (If you’re new to homemade dough, you can always add more water –– just enough so the dough’s easy to work with.)
  5. Dump dough out onto a section of plastic wrap, gather it onto a disc, and wrap tightly. Set in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.
  6. Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a shallow 9-inch pie pan and set aside.
  7. On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled dough into a 12-inch disc. Set in the pie pan, trim excess dough from the edge, and crimp the edges. Pierce all over with a fork.
  8. Carefully set a sheet of foil onto the dough, and add either dried beans, rice, or pie weights. Set on a rimmed baking sheet and slide into the oven. Bake for 15 minutes, lift out the foil with weights, and bake for another 5 to 7 minutes.
  9. Set aside to cool while you prepare the filling (but keep the oven at 375°F).
  10. To make the filling, in a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat, whisk together the flour and ¼ cup of the cream. When mixture starts to bubble and thicken, slowly whisk in the remaining ¾ cup cream. Continue whisking until mixture begins to bubble and thicken once again, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat.
  11. In a medium bowl, whisk to combine kabocha puree and eggs until light and frothy. Whisk in the sugar, spices, and sea salt. Whisk the cream mixture into the squash mixture.
  12. Carefully pour filling into the pie shell. Sprinkle a pinch of ground black pepper over the top. Set on a rimmed baking sheet and slide into the oven. Bake until all but a 4-inch circle in the center of the pie is set, 45 – 55 minutes. If the crust starts to darken too much, shield the edge with foil.
  13. Allow pie to cool completely, several hours or more, before serving. Serve slices with twist of pepper and a dollop of very lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Recipe adapted from The Art of Simple Food by Alice Walters and featured at www.brooklynsupper.com.

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