Winter Squash Care and Recipes

Basic Squash Care and Cooking

Care/Storage:

1.   Your squash is already washed and clean and selected for storage ability.  Unlike summer squash, there is little or no taste difference between butternuts due to size or shape.  Skin color is not a reliable indicator of taste once the squash is all in from the field.  Discoloration of the skin from contact with grass or weeds is aesthetic and will not affect flavor. 

2.   Store in a cool, dry place – not the fridge.  A basement, garage, or crawlspace that offers protection from freezing serves well.  Depending on the temperatures in your living area, you may be able to keep it in a corner in your kitchen, or as a centerpiece!  Stored well, the hard winter squashes can last exceptionally well.  Some folks tell me they still have squash they bought from me last year!  A winter squash usually gets sweeter after several months of storage.  For even longer storage, wash with hydrogen peroxide, or if you don’t have an ideal spot, go ahead and cook it, scoop it into a small Ziploc, and freeze until you need it.  This makes it really easy to whip up a pie! 

Basic Squash Cooking Directions

1.      The easiest way to cut a winter squash is to poke it with holes like a potato and cook it whole for a few minutes in the microwave or several minutes in the oven.  This softens it enough for me to feel safe trying to cut it in half – they are called hard squashes for a reason!  Sometimes people tell me they cook it to completion this way.  For a 1 ½ - 2 pound squash, it takes about 5-6 minutes in the microwave. 

2.      Cut the squash in half, remove seeds, and lay it face-down in an appropriate-sized baking dish.  Fill the bottom of the dish with a little water so it does not dry out. If you leave it face up, brush on some olive oil and add your spices; check and rebrush the olive oil as needed– it can have a tendency to drain into the seed cavity. 

3.      Cook in the microwave or oven.  Oven: 350 for about 30-45 min.  Microwave: for a 1 ½ pound squash, about 7 minutes on high, depending on your microwave.  The water and face-down orientation is especially necessary for microwave cooking.  If you need to ckeck it for doneness, put it back in promptly before it cools. Otherwise, it makes it hard to finish cooking.  If you do have to put it back in, remove everything that scoops out easily first, so as not to overcook those parts. 

4.      You know it’s done when you can easily scoop it out with a spoon.  If you can’t scoop it – it’s not done!

5.      Spice it up.  I like to add olive oil, salt/pepper, and cumin before I cook it.  Others add butter, brown sugar, even whipping cream or maple syrup for a sweeter taste after it’s done. 

6.   For your recipe calculations: a 1 ¾ pound squash yields 1 ½ - 2 cups cooked butternut.  

Butternut and Black Bean Stew

Another highly recommended recipe from a friend.   

1 ½ pounds butternut or pumpkin, peeled and seeded

2 TBsp. olive oil

1 large onion

1 clove garlic

½ small chili pepper, seeded and minced

½ green bell pepper, chopped

4 cups vegetable stock

¼ tsp. dried thyme

¼ tsp. dried marjoram

¾ tsp. salt

1/8 tsp.  fresh ground black pepper

2 cups cooked black beans

1 pound kale, washed and chopped

1. Cut squash/pumpkin into ½ inch chunks and set aside. 
2. Heat oil in a large stock pot. 
3. Add onion, garlic, chili pepper, and bell pepper.  Sauté over medium heat, stirring occasionally until soft (about 5 minutes)
4. Add squash/pumpkin, vegetable stock, spices, salt, and pepper.  Stir well.
5. Bring to a boil, then lower heat, cover, and simmer until squash/pumpkin is tender (about 1 hour). 
6. Add beans and kale to stock pot and add more stock or water if stew is too thick. 
7. Cover and continue to simmer for about 15 minutes. 
8. Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Pie 

This recipe is from the John Vining, former Polk County Agricultural Extension Service Agent.  This recipe is quite delicious and a popular item at our house.  I bet you’ll never make another pumpkin pie after you’ve tasted this!  It was handed down to me – the original cook is “Bos” Vining.

½ cup sugar*
1 Tbsp. flour
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. ground mace (or cloves)

1 ½ cups cooked, mashed butternut squash (a 1 ¾ pound squash yields about 1 ½ cups)
1 egg slightly beaten (or your favorite egg replacer)
1 ½ cups milk*
2 Tbsp. melted butter
1 unbaked 9 inch pie shell

1.  Mix together sugar, flour, salt, and spices.

2. Add sugar/flour to cooked, mashed squash.
3. Add egg, milk, and melted butter, and put in pastry shell.
4. Bake at 450 deg. for 15 min.
5. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees and bake until firm (about 40 minutes).
6. Serve warm and top with whipped cream or your favorite whipped topping. Also good served cold or room temperature at the next meal! 
   
   

Notes from Mollie:
*Usually, I end up using a little less milk than called for, especially if I am working with precooked, frozen butternut.

Mollie’s gluten-free/egg-free recipe for a pie shell:

1 ½ cups mixed flour: equal parts popcorn (cornmeal), rice, and pinto (or other bean)

1 ½ tsp egg-replacer (I use the Ener-G brand)

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

1/3 cup canola oil (or other vegetable oil)

~ ½ cup milk

mix dry ingredients, add wet ingredients, add milk until desired consistency is reached

Roasted Vegetables

I found this recipe on the internet and adapted it to whatever we have had on hand when we use it!  We’ve used it many times when we’ve had friends over for dinner, and it has always been a big hit, even for people who “don’t like winter squash" or these other vegetables.  We usually end up making copies or sending the link, but here it is, our way, and a little easier to follow.

1 medium head garlic

1 ½ pounds “winter vegetables”: butternut, other winter squash (kuri, kabocha, etc.) turnips, potatoes, sweet potatoes, rutabaga, or a combination

4 shallots or small onions, peeled

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 teaspoon dried rosemary, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme, or 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary or thyme

table salt

ground black pepper

1.  Heat oven to 375 degrees. 

2.  Cut up all your vegetables.  I don’t peel fresh turnips.  I sometimes peel potatoes/sweet potatoes, and always peel butternut (or other) squash, and rutabaga.

3.  Put all your vegetables (except garlic) onto a roasting pan and drizzle with oil, and add spices and salt/pepper.  Don’t add more oil – it will work out. 

4.  Toss vegetables/oil/spices and put in oven.

5.  Roast vegetables for 30 minutes, stirring or tossing every 10 minutes. 

6.  While vegetables are going, prepare garlic.  If roasting garlic cloves in skins, just break the head into cloves.  To roast without the skins (my preferred method), bring a pan of water to a boil, drop in the cloves whole (with skins on), and boil for about 10 minutes.  Then cool in cold water, separate cloves, and peel. 

7.  Add garlic to the vegetable mix, stirring again to re-distribute oil.  You can raise your heat at this point to 425 degrees, if you like your vegetables browned a little, but I find it also works for to leave my oven at the same temperature.  Roast for about 10-15 more minutes - stirring once in the meantime. 

8.  Serve hot, at room temperature, or cold!  Great for dinners with company, a cold lunch, or anytime.  Freezes well if they don’t eat it all!