Squash are as confusing as they are appealing. No one would suspect it from reading menus lately, with butternut squash soup the cliche du jour, but squash come in a whole spectrum of shapes and colors, textures and flavors.
Some have smooth flesh, some are fibrous; some are deep orange inside and others pale yellow; some are candied-yam sweet and others as astringent as a turnip. But they share one virtue: You can do a lot more with them than just puree them with apples, throw in cream, call it soup and charge $15 a bowl.
Squash are like no other food. Not only are there more types in markets every year, as old varieties like the buttercup are rediscovered and hybrids like the sugar loaf are perfected, but almost all of them can be treated as either a fruit or a vegetable. They can go sweet or savory, spiced with cinnamon and cloves or with the hottest chilies. Always, though, their own flavor comes through.
Most supermarkets still stock only the familiar butternut, acorn and spaghetti squash, and the occasional oddity, like a Jack Be Little miniature. But sometimes in specialty or produce stores, and when farmers markets are open, you might come across baby blue Hubbards and wildly striped carnivals to turbans that look as if the Mad Hatter had mated with the Great Pumpkin. There are monster banana squash and dainty delicatas; there are golden nuggets to serve one and calabaza big enough for a village.
Cooking squash
The word “squash” literally means a green thing eaten raw, which is what it was to the Narragansett Indians long before the Pilgrims sailed in. That etymology is a bit misleading, because hard squash almost by definition have to be cooked. But that’s far from a drawback.
They can be ready in 10 minutes, if you peel and grate and then saute them in butter, but they’re best when baked very slowly, until the flesh softens and caramelizes, concentrating the sweetness. It’s almost impossible to bake a squash too long.
All you do is slice it in half, scrape out the seeds (a serrated grapefruit spoon works best), lay it cut side down on a baking sheet and leave it in a 350-degree oven until it looks as if it’s ready to collapse. A big squash like a buttercup might take an hour, but a little sugar loaf or delicata is done in 30 minutes.
With nominal work you have a side dish that needs nothing more than butter (there’s no better vehicle for it) and salt. Most cooks reflexively reach for brown sugar or honey when they see squash, though their sweetness is balanced to begin with.
Slow cooking in the oven dries out the flesh in the best way, leaving it dense and full of flavor and substance. When you scoop it out and puree it, in a blender or just with a potato masher, it’s as thick and creamy as mashed potatoes, nothing like the gruelish baby food so many purees resemble. Basically, the extended squash family can be divided into two branches, and which one you choose depends on whether you want light or dark flavor. The bigger category is made up of sturdy varieties with dense, usually fairly dry orange flesh with deep, intense flavor. Butternuts, buttercups, acorn, kabochas, turbans, golden dumplings and some others fit those criteria and can be used in almost any dish: as filling in ravioli, stirred into chili instead of tomatoes, liquefied with stock (or coconut milk) to make soup or grated and used in anything from kabocha tart to butternut bread.
The other side of the family comprises smaller squash like sweet dumplings, delicata, carnival and spaghetti, which have more fibrous flesh, usually orange or deep yellow and often with lighter, more subtle flavor. Most of them are single-serving squash or enough just for two as a vegetable, and are not well suited for more elaborate dishes. Like just about any squash, though, they can be cut into wedges, tossed in a flavorful oil like pumpkinseed or walnut, and roasted until the edges caramelize and the interior mashes at the touch of a fork.
Types of squash
Sturdy squash are virtually interchangeable in most dishes. Buttercup and kabocha, a variety recently introduced from Japan, are both almost sweet, with dark and intensely flavored flesh. They also look similar, though the buttercup is more square-sided, with a telltale nubby ring on the underside.
Butternuts have much in common with buttercup and kabocha. They are just as versatile, but the color and flavor are not really as vibrant. Butternuts are the workhorses of squash, with the best yield per pound; no flesh clings to their sleek, smooth skin once they’re baked.
Acorn squash has a flavor that is neither sweet nor rich, so they need seasoning, usually honey or cinnamon. Or slice them crosswise into rings and bake. They are available in a glowing white version, along with the common deep orange and green. They have a substantial seed cavity, which can be hollowed out and stuffed with ingredients such as sausage and rice to make a main course.
Calabaza are West Indian pumpkins and are almost never sold whole because they grow so massive. Supermarkets and specialty shops catering to Caribbean customers sell hefty chunks of this flavorful orange squash sealed in plastic wrap. It is more fibrous than butternut, and has more character, and it takes extremely well to seasonings used in the islands, like fresh thyme and super-hot Scotch bonnet peppers. It is not a great squash for roasting or pureeing; it’s often used grated in savory dishes.
Hubbard squash, beneath its otherworldly blue skin, has a good orange color; it’s not as sweet and is much mealier and more watery than other dense squash, so it’s almost always used as a vegetable. Its other disadvantage for anyone not cooking for an army is its size: a small Hubbard weighs 10 pounds or more. One that huge does make a dazzling natural tureen for soup, though: Golden nugget squash, little bigger than a softball, are bright orange outside and slightly paler inside but have smooth, rich flesh and flavor much like the other dense squash, if a little sweeter. Their size, though, limits their usefulness; they’re best for stuffing.
Easily the most theatrical squash are turbans, with a green and white striped topknot. The deep orange flesh is dense, sweet and rich.
On the other lighter, more fibrous side of the squash family, sweet dumplings are little and cute, with dark green and ivory stripes, yellow-orange flesh and an intensely buttery, sweet-tangy taste.They are best just halved or quartered and baked, plain or with a sheen of flavored oil, but they can be stuffed.
Delicata and the new hybrid of delicata and sweet dumpling, called sugar loaf, are small cylindrical squash with pale yellow striped skin and yellowish flesh. Delicata taste faintly of sweet corn; sugar loafs are more akin to potato with a hint of rutabaga.
Many of these “winter” squash are available all year, but they’re in their prime right now.
FAST SQUASH SAUTE
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
1 medium buttercup, butternut or kabocha squash, peeled, seeded
4 tablespoons butter
2 shallots, minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
Coarse sea salt
Pinch ground red pepper
Grate squash coarsely using four-sided grater or food processor. Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and ginger; saute briefly until they just wilt. Stir in squash. Season with salt. Cook, stirring constantly, until squash turns tender but not soft, about 7-10 minutes. Add red pepper; mix well.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories ………… 210 Fat ………… 12 g Saturated fat …. 7 g
% calories from fat .. 47 Cholesterol … 30 mg Sodium …….. 120 mg
Carbohydrates …… 25 g Protein ……. 3.8 g Fiber ………. 3.4 g
