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For the past few weeks, markets have been brimming with all sorts of pumpkins and local squash. By now you’ve purchased your future jack-o’-lantern and some smaller pumpkins for cooking and baking.
If slicing and dicing small pumpkins is too much of a struggle, the canned variety is a fine alternative. Just make sure to buy the unsweetened kind for pies and soups.
When I was little, we spread the pumpkin seeds on a cookie sheet, gave a good sprinkle of salt and crisped them in the oven.
Butternut squash is one of my favorite fall vegetables. Delicious as a side, it also can take center stage in dishes like cream of squash soup. (I am saving this recipe for my Thanksgiving column.) Some markets, like Trader Joe’s, sell them peeled and diced in the fresh and frozen sections.
To cook with fresh butternut squash, zap it in the microwave on high for a few minutes, making it easier to cut into chunks. When I make it as a side dish, I always add a good dose of cinnamon, since it’s one of Mother Nature’s all-natural air fresheners.
Acorn squash and delicata, a new multicolored variety, are also delicious. But I find the former to be a bit stringy. It contains more water than butternut and is not as sweet.
Spaghetti squash became popular in the 1990s and can form the basis for entr�es or side dishes. I like to make it in the microwave.
My husband Edward detests zucchini. But, a few years ago, I adapted a Julia Child recipe for Grated Zucchini in Cream and he liked it because it was heavily disguised with butter and half-and-half.
Pumpkin Soup
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons of oil
2 tablespoons of butter
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
2 ribs of celery, diced
2 (15-ounce) cans of unsweetened pumpkin
1 (15-ounce) can of diced tomatoes with their juices
1 (32-ounce) package of chicken or vegetable stock
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Hot sauce, to taste
Directions:
Heat the oil and butter over medium-high in a 4-quart pot. Add the onion, carrot and celery and saut� for about five to eight minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Lower to simmer and cook for about 30 minutes, or until all the flavors have blended.
Serves six.
Baked Butternut Squash
Ingredients:
2 medium-size butternut squash
Butter
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Cinnamon, to taste
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Cook the squash on high in the microwave for about five minutes. Allow to cool and slice each in half. Remove the seeds.
Place on a cookie sheet. Put a good-size pat of butter on each. Season with the salt, pepper and cinnamon.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Serves four.
Note from Phyllis: Cook the squash in the microwave on high for about 15 to 20 minutes instead of in the oven, if desired.
Spaghetti Squash Casserole
Ingredients:
2 large spaghetti squash
1 stick of butter, melted
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions:
Place the squash in the microwave and cook on high for about five minutes. Allow to cool. Cut each in half.
Return to the microwave and cook on high for another 10 minutes. Remove. Gently pull apart the flesh into strands.
Place in an ovenproof dish. Top with the butter, cheese, salt and pepper.
When ready to serve, reheat in the microwave on high for five minutes or in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for about five to 10 minutes.
Serves four to six.
Note from Phyllis: To serve spaghetti squash as an entr�e, saut� a mix of vegetables, such as onions, leeks, mushrooms, red peppers — anything on hand — and place it on top of the squash.
Grated Zucchini in Cream
Ingredients:
4 large zucchini, grated
4 tablespoons of butter
1 tablespoon of oil
1 shallot, peeled and diced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup of light cream or half-and-half
Directions:
Place the zucchini in a bowl. Squeeze out the water with your hands. Dry well with a kitchen or paper towel.
Melt the butter and oil over medium-high in a large pot. Add the shallot and saut� for about three to five minutes. Add the zucchini and saut� for five minutes. Add the salt, pepper and light cream or half-and-half. Heat through for another five minutes.
Serves four to six.
Note from Phyllis: Top the zucchini with some melted butter, if desired. Mixing the zucchini with 1 (10-ounce) package of defrosted frozen chopped spinach is also an option. Add a dash of nutmeg before serving.
