Featuring: Winter Squash

By Chef Andrea
     Fall is definitely in the air, and it’s time to get serious about winter squash!  Our winter squash seemed to ripen a little early this year which, in retrospect, was a good thing! We are very thankful to have been able to harvest all our squash before the big rains came our way. Unfortunately, we had to finish the harvest in between rains which may be part of the reason this year’s crop is a bit more delicate. Field conditions are directly related to the storage potential of a crop. Wet years in our valley generally lend themselves to producing squash that doesn’t store quite as well as those grown in a dry year. We’ve already seen some squash starting to get spots on the exterior…usually it’s the sweetest squash that go the fastest. We’ve been monitoring them diligently since harvest and have already sorted through them several times to remove ones showing signs of deterioration. If you feel like we’ve delivered more squash this year than we normally do by this point in the season, well, you’re right. We know this year’s crop is not going to store as well, and we need your help in taking care of it to make sure we all get to enjoy as many of these delicious squash as possible. It’s easier for you to keep your eye on a handful of squash than it is for us to monitor thousands of them.

Front: Orange Kabocha Squash / Rear: Butternut Squash

     This week’s selections include two of our favorite varieties, orange kabocha and butternut squash. Orange kabocha squash have a deep orange colored flesh that is rich and sweet when cooked. Honestly, my favorite way to eat this squash is to just cook the flesh, puree it and eat it warmed with butter, salt and pepper. However, this squash is also delicious when used to make soups, curry dishes and baked goods, to name a few.
     The other squash variety this week is butternut, but not just any butternut. This week we’re delivering two of our sweetest butternut varieties, honeynut butternuts and butterscotch butternuts. The honeynut butternuts are dark brown in color while the butterscotch ones are the typical tan butternut color. Both varieties have been developed to be small, personal sized squash that boast sweet, delicious flesh.
     The ideal temperature for storing squash is between 45 and 55°F. This is a bit more chilly than most of your homes, so know that it’s ok to store them on your kitchen counter at a warmer temperature as long as you keep your eye on them. You do not want to store squash in the refrigerator or in an uninsulated garage where the temperatures could dip below 45°F once winter sets in. At temperatures less than 45°F squash is vulnerable to chill injury. I keep telling you to “keep your eye on the squash.”  But what are you looking for?! If you notice any sort of a spot starting to form or any signs of deterioration, you need to intervene immediately. A small spot doesn’t mean the squash is bad or needs to be composted, rather it means you need to eat it right away! Just cut away the bad spot and use the rest. If you leave it unattended, the spot will continue to grow and consume your squash….which is what we do not want to happen! Even if you are not quite ready to eat the squash, I encourage you to cook it anyway. Winter squash is a great vegetable to cook in advance and freeze. It’s super quick and easy to pull precooked squash out of the freezer in the middle of the winter and heat it up to eat as a side dish or incorporate it into baked goods or other dishes. The main thing is, don’t let it go to waste! If I have a pile of squash on my counter, I like to bake a lot at one time…the oven is already hot, and if you’re going to make a mess it’s better to clean up just once!

Butterscotch Butternut Squash

     Winter squash is easy to cook. The method I employ most frequently is to simply cut the squash in half and scrape out the seed cavity. I place it, cut side down, in a baking dish and add a little bit of water to the pan, enough to cover the bottom of the pan and come up about ¼-½ an inch on the squash. I bake it in the oven at about 350°F until it is tender when poked with a fork. Once tender, I remove them from the oven and flip them over so the cut side is up. I allow them to rest until they are cool enough to handle, then scoop out the flesh. When you scoop the seed cavity out, remember that the seeds are edible as well. Squash that have smaller seeds are more tender may be rinsed, dried and then toasted.
     There are other methods of cooking squash including roasting or steaming it. Depending on the end result you may choose to peel the squash first.  Roasted squash is a sweet treat and can be made just as you would roast any other vegetable. The recipe for butternut squash and tahini spread in this week’s newsletter starts with roasting butternut squash tossed with olive oil and cinnamon. You could actually stop right there….it’s so delicious it’s like eating candy. The recipe for Autumn Millet Bake employs more of a steaming method for cooking squash. The raw squash is added to a baking dish with the other ingredients, including liquid. The dish is covered and during the baking process the squash cooks by steaming it.
     There are so many different ways to incorporate winter squash into your diet this fall and winter. Get creative and try some new recipes. As always, we appreciate it when our members share their favorite recipes with us!

Butternut Squash & Tahini Spread

Photo Borrowed from Chef Ottolenghi's website

Serves: 6-8

7 cups butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp ground cinnamon

5 Tbsp light tahini paste

½ cup Greek yogurt

2 small cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp mixed black and white sesame seeds (or just white if you can’t find black)

1 ½ tsp date syrup or maple syrup

2 Tbsp chopped cilantro

Salt, to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. 

2. Spread the squash out in a medium roasting pan.  Pour over the olive oil and sprinkle on the cinnamon and ½ tsp salt.  Mix together well, cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil, and roast in the oven for 70 minutes, stirring once during the cooking.  (AY Note: I did not cover the pan when I roasted it, but rather let the squash becomes golden and tender.)  Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

3. Transfer the squash to a food processor, along with the tahini, yogurt, and garlic.  Roughly pulse so that everything is combined into a coarse paste, without the spread becoming smooth;  you can also do this by hand using a fork or potato masher. 

4. Spread the butternut in a wavy pattern over a flat plate and sprinkle with the sesame seeds, drizzle over the syrup, and finish with the cilantro, if using.

     This recipe was borrowed from Jerusalem: A Cookbook, written by Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi.  Here’s an excerpt from their introduction to the recipe.  “This dip seems to be fantastically popular with anyone who tries it.  There is something about the magical combination of tahini and squash that we always tend to come back to.  Serve as a starter with bread or as part of a meze selection.”  

     We served this spread at our Harvest Party several weeks ago.  We found the leftovers were delicious when spread on a warm tortilla and topped with black beans and cabbage slaw.

Mark Bittman’s Autumn Millet Bake

Yield: 4-6 servings

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus oil for the dish

¾ cup millet

1 medium butternut or other winter squash, peeled seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes

1 cup fresh cranberries

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 Tbsp minced fresh sage leaves or 1 tsp dried

2 Tbsp maple syrup or honey

1 cup vegetable stock or water, warmed

¼ cup pumpkin seeds or coarsely chopped hazelnuts

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F and grease a 2-quart casserole, a large gratin dish, or a 9x13-inch baking dish with olive oil.

2. Put 2 Tbsp of the oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the millet and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant and golden, about 3 minutes. Spread in the bottom of the prepared baking dish.

3. Scatter the squash or pumpkin cubes and the cranberries on top of the millet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and the sage and drizzle with syrup. Carefully pour the warmed stock over all. Cover tightly with foil and bake without disturbing, for 45 minutes.

4. Carefully uncover and turn the oven to 400°F. As discreetly as possible, sneak a taste and adjust the seasoning. If it looks too dry, add a spoonful or two of water or stock. (Note from Heidi: This is key! The millet should be close to being cooked through at this point, if not you need to add liquid and keep it moist and cooking - I used another ¼ cup+ of stock here). Sprinkle the pumpkin seeds and/or nuts on top, and return the dish to the oven. Bake until the mixture bubbles and the top is browned, another 10 minutes or so. Serve piping hot or at room temperature (Note from Heidi, Drizzled with the remaining olive oil if you like.)

This recipe was created by Mark Bittman and published in his book, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.  I found this recipe when perusing Heidi Swanson’s blog, 101cookbooks.com.  Visit her website to read more about this dish and her variations.

Chai Spiced Winter Squash Lassi

Photo borrowed from Andrea Bemis' blog

Yield: 2 servings

½ cup cooked butternut or kabocha squash puree

1 ½ cups plain unsweetened full fat yogurt

½ cup ice cold water

2-3 Tbsp pure maple syrup, plus more to taste

2 tsp vanilla extract

¼ tsp fine sea salt

2 tsp minced fresh ginger

½ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground cardamom

Pinch of ground cloves

Freshly ground black pepper, just a touch

Combine all the ingredients into a high speed blender and blend until smooth.  Taste for seasonings and adjust to your liking.

This recipe was adapted from Andrea Bemis’ Chai-Spiced Pumpkin Lassi recipe featured recently on her blog, Dishing Up the Dirt.  Her recipe calls for 1 Tbsp of chai-spiced tea leaves from one bag of tea.  I didn’t have a chai tea bag handy, so I created this variation.  This is a delicious way to incorporate squash into breakfast!

Winter Squash 101- Everything you need to know!

This week, we’re honing in on all things winter squash because, let’s face it, fall is here and that means it’s time to embrace winter squash. Before we get into the specifics of each of the winter squash varieties that we grow, we’ll take a step back and give you a little background about the planning and strategy that goes into getting these squash into your kitchen.

Long before the planting season begins, Farmers Richard and Andrea begin the process of selecting which winter squash varieties to grow in the coming year. For the most part, these decisions are based on a few simple factors: appearance & size, taste & sweetness, and how well it stores. The squash you’ve seen this fall in your boxes or at our market stand all possess this trifecta of ideal characteristics—albeit, to varying degrees.  We also try to select squash that will span the season with some being best shortly after harvest and others that get better with time in storage. 

Winter Sweet Squash

 Once planting season arrives, squash transplants are nestled in along row after row of silver—or reflective—mulch. This practice largely serves as a deterrent to common pests like cucumber beetles and squash bugs. Based on the thickness of each particular squash variety’s shell, their vulnerability to these pests and their razor sharp mouthparts varies somewhat. Typically, however, any bacteria that makes its way into one of these hardly noticeable nibbles inflicted by a cucumber beetle produces a spot. This tiny spot will affect the shelf life of the squash.

Knowing this, we take great care to ‘baby’ each and every one of our winter squash as we handle them during harvest & packing. Using large portable tanks, our crew washes each squash in the field during harvest, a process that removes both dirt and bacteria. This allows us to minimize the amount of handling, which in turn limits opportunities for puncture wounds. From the field, our crew moves the day’s harvest to our warm and toasty greenhouse where they undergo a process of curing and then are held in storage.

Orange Kuri

Whether it be in the field or on the packing line, we keep an eye out for those spots I mentioned before. Any afflicted squash are culled immediately. But alas, the Harmony Valley family can only consume so much squash!  While we deliver squash with nearly every box once fall sets in, you don’t necessarily have to eat it right away.  It’s much easier for you to keep your eye on a few squash than it is for us to monitor thousands of squash nestled into bins.  Once you receive your squash, your job is to keep an eye out for any signs of aging, spots forming, etc. Even if a spot appears on the surface, it is still perfectly edible. Simply cut out the spot and eat that squash or cook it and freeze the cooked flesh. Overall, store your squash in a warm, dry place—like your kitchen table for seasonal décor or your countertop. Do not store squash in the refrigerator or in an uninsulated garage.  They could get chill injury from being in a cold environment less than 45 degrees. It also helps to be aware that the sweeter the squash and the more thin the rind, the poorer its storage ability.  These varieties should be eaten first.

And now, let’s take a look at Harmony Valley’s 2015 winter squash varieties!

 Orange Kabocha 

Orange Kabocha and Orange Kuri: These squash are similar in appearance and use.  Kabocha is rather squat in shape and features a bright orange, dull and slightly bumpy skin. Orange kuri has a similar appearance except it is pointier on top.  Both have a sweet, rich, nutty flavor profile and a chestnut-like texture that is quite similar to a sweet potato, with pumpkin influences. Highly versatile, these can be steamed or baked. If opting for the latter, cut your squash in half and remove the seeds first.  Bake in the oven in a pan with a small amount of water, cut side down.  Thanks to their dense flesh, this squash is ideal for curries, but may just as easily be pureed for your next batch of squash soup.  It’s also a good selection to use in baked goods.

Butternut Squash

Butternut: This winter squash variety has a long and somewhat slender neck and a more bulbous, rounded bottom. We intentionally grow smaller varieties so they can be used in entirety once cut.  Butternut features a mild flavor and a silky texture. Its smooth skin makes it easy to peel using either a vegetable peeler or paring knife. The seeds can either be discarded or roasted and eaten as a fall snack. Butternut can be used in both savory and sweet dishes, from soups and pastas to breads and mashes. Stored properly, butternut will keep for several months.

Honeynut Butternut

Honeynut Butternut: The product of crossing a butternut and a buttercup, honeynut butternut squash are adorable. They more closely resemble their butternut parent, though they’re much smaller in size and feature a rust-colored skin. Honeynut butternut’s flesh is very sweet, with a smooth, non-stringy texture. Their high sugar content makes them ideal for sweeter preparations, though they can also be substituted for regular butternut in any recipe. These little squash are challenging to grow and are not the best keepers.  We delivered them in some boxes over the past two weeks.  If you have one on your counter, we’d recommend you use it soon.

Sugar Dumpling Squash

Sugar Dumpling: Whitish-yellow and green in color, sugar dumplings are small and compact, with ridges that run vertically. Their flesh is sweet and flavorful. Sugar dumplings can be used in sweet or savory preparations and are ideally suited to recipes that call for sweet potatoes or pumpkins. In general, you can halve, quarter or even whole-roast and stuff these little squash. Like honeynut butternut, sugar dumplings aren’t the best keepers. We delivered these several weeks ago.  If you still have some, keep your eye on them and use them within the next few weeks.

Festival Squash

Festival: Festival squash—often called carnival squash—are the product of an acorn-sweet dumpling cross. Yellow or cream in color with green and orange striping, festival squash feature a mild, nutty flesh and a firm texture. This variety is an excellent choice for baking or stuffing. Typically, preparation doesn’t require peeling, but do note that festival’s skin is not typically eaten. This squash will keep for up to one month.

Delicata Squash Tacos, find the recipe here:
Delicata Squash and Black Bean Tacos
 With Salsa Verde and Lime Sour Cream

Delicata: Delicata squash are oblong in shape, with yellowish skin and green striping that runs top to bottom. Their flesh is sweet and creamy—similar to a sweet potato but on the earthier side. Delicata’s thin skin is edible, so there is no need to spend time and energy on peeling. Halve this squash before roasting—or slice it into rings for even faster cooking, taking care to remove the seeds. Partly due to their thin skin, delicata are very poor keepers. These were among the first squash we sent your way.

Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti: Spaghetti squash are oval-shaped and light yellow to gold in color. After cooking, one scrape of its mild flesh will tell you how this squash got its name. Spaghetti squash’s long, noodle-like strands are similar to angel hair pasta—they’re tender and somewhat chewy, but still on the delicate side. In terms of preparation, there’s no need to peel this squash—simply roast and scrape. Due to its very mellow flavor, spaghetti squash are best incorporated into bold, savory dishes where it won’t have to compete for attention—it’ll simply blend in. This squash can also step in as a healthy alternative to pasta. Spaghetti squash will store for about one month.

Cha-Cha Squash

We have a few other varieties you might see in some of the latter boxes.  We have been trialing a few new varieties including a dark green kabocha called Cha-Cha.  The past two years we’ve also grown a squash called Winter Sweet.  This is a unique one in that it is actually better after it has been in storage for several months.  We selected this one specifically because it is one we can store and then deliver in January.