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Usually relegated to pies by Americans, winter squash is a staple in other cuisines
• by Pat Eby
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Squash was the one of the first things American Indians taught the Pilgrims to cook. And, like Americans today, the colonists ignored this vitamin-packed foodstuff.
“Here’s the funny thing: Squash is the quintessential American vegetable, but very few people know how to cook and prepare it,” said Paul Krautmann of Bellews Creek Farm.
This season, Krautmann raised standards such as butternut, but he also grew Delicata, Black Futsu, spaghetti squash and an Italian heirloom variety, Long of Naples. “It’s used for stuffing ravioli. It looks like a butternut but much bigger, with a green netting on the surface,” said Krautmann. “My biggest ones weigh 16 to 18 pounds.”
Krautmann credits local chefs such as Andy Ayers of Riddle’s Penultimate Café and Wine Bar for educating palates to new tastes. “Andy has been featuring our spaghetti squash. Customers are more willing to try new things if they see it on a menu,” he said.
Cooking is one of Krautmann’s skills, so he’s comfortable swapping recipes and cooking advice when customers buy his produce. “People are driven towards sweet side dishes for squashes or to desserts like pumpkin pie,” he said. “But I like to make savories, like roasted root vegetables and squash with chipotle, pepper and coriander.”
Krautmann will have winter squash and other good things, including his homegrown smoked chipotle peppers, at the Clayton Farmers’ Market Winter Pantry inside the Schlafly Bottleworks each Saturday morning through Nov. 19.
Arlene Kruse’s ancestors sold produce on the banks of the Mississippi River even before Julia Cerre Soulard donated land in 1838 for the market that bears her name, where the Kruse family’s farm sells pumpkins today.
Kruse thinks the American habit of relegating squash to the Thanksgiving table needs to change. “Squashes and pumpkins are underutilized in American cooking,” she said. “In Italy, the squashes are a staple like our potatoes. You’ll find squash in everything from lasagna to risotto.”
Kruse offers the slate-blue Jaradale, a flat, deeply ribbed pumpkin with a creamy texture. She also grows the buff-colored Long Island Cheese pumpkins, named for their close resemblance to a cheese wheel.
Jere Gettle, seedsman for Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, offers all the varieties mentioned above plus 60 or so additional ones. “We’re seeing a lot of interest in the Cushaw squash, white and green,” he said. “People are frying it like potatoes.” Look for the distinctive white Yugoslavian Finger Fruit and the black-skinned Yokahama, too, in Baker Creeks’ 2006 offerings. “The Queensland Blue has been going well for pies,” Gettle said. “It’s an Australian pumpkin, turban-shaped with a sweet orange flesh.”
“The hard-shell squashes keep a long time,” said Kruse. “I’ve had pumpkins last through August. Squashes have lots of fiber, vitamin A and vitamin C. They’re sustaining kinds of food. They are good for you.”
Don’t let the “good for you” part keep you from squash. Go a little wild. Try something black and warty or blue and squat, something with a delectable orange flesh or a creamy yellow purée.
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How to cook hard-shell squash
Squash has a well-earned reputation for causing kitchen cuts when knife meets hard shell. “You hear horror stories about people chopping off fingers and such trying to cut into a hard winter squash,” said Paul Krautmann of Bellews Creek Farm.
“Here’s my answer,” Krautmann said. “You poke a few holes in the squash, put it on a cookie sheet with a rim and bake it in the oven – say about 350 degrees – and when it softens up, then you cut it up. Chunk it to use in a recipe, or just scoop out the seeds, put butter on [the flesh] and eat it.”
Farmer Paul’s Roasted Fall Vegetables
Courtesy of Paul Krautmann of Bellews Creek Farm
Yield: 12 to 15 servings
2 medium sweet potatoes
3 or 4 large parsnips
1 rutabaga
2 cups butternut or other winter squash
2 medium turnips
1 ripe red, yellow or orange pepper
2 medium onions
2 bulbs garlic, peeled and left whole*
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp. to 2 tsp. ground chipotle pepper
2 Tbsp. ground coriander
2 Tbsp. coarsely ground black pepper
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Peel and cut the sweet potatoes, parsnips, rutabaga, winter squash and turnips into chunky, angular pieces. Seed and cut up the pepper.
• Leave the root plates intact on the onions. Cut the onions into eighths, like segments of an orange.
• Toss the vegetables and garlic in a large bowl or in a sealable plastic bag with the olive oil and spices.
• Spread the vegetables in a single layer on large baking sheets.
• Place the pans on the center rack in the oven and bake until the vegetables are soft and the edges crispy, about 45 minutes.
• If the edges don’t get crispy, put the vegetables under a broiler for a few minutes.
Note: This recipe is amenable to adaptation. Brussels sprouts, beets, carrots, fennel, red onions, leeks or peeled broccoli stems can be substituted for any of the vegetables. Other seasonings to try include balsamic vinegar, oregano, allspice, Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce.
* Use the garlic bulbs whole! The pungent garlic flavor is blunted and sweetened by roasting.
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