Kale Butternut Bisque

 











Creamy rich butternut soup with flecks of deep green. This is the perfect destination for leftover winter squash.

Prep time: 15 Minutes
Cook time: 18 Minutes
Serves: 4 (6-8 as an appetizer or side dish)

INGREDIENTS
1 bunch kale
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups cooked butternut
2-3 cups chicken or turkey stock
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne
Salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
Wash the kale and strip the leaves off the stems. Dice the stems, and coarsely chop the leaves (keep them separate). Heat the oil in a large stock pot over medium heat, add the onion and the kale stems, and cook, stirring, for 10 minutes or until stems are soft. Add the leaves and the water, cover, and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until greens are soft. Add a little more water if necessary

Add the cooked squash, 2 cups stock, cumin, cayenne, salt & pepper. Process with an immersion blender, adding more stock if necessary to achieve a thick, creamy consistency. Bring to a simmer and serve.

A dollop of sour cream on top is a nice touch, along with the obligatory crusty bread.

Photo and Recipe by Tod Dimmick

Curried Butternut Broccoli Soup

This hearty cream soup, enjoyed after a cold day outside, was perfect for the occasion.  Prepare extra squash, broccoli, and potatoes a day or two beforehand, and it's very fast prep (not to mention efficient use of leftovers, if you're that type of cook).

Prep time:  15 minutes
Cook time:  20 minutes
Serves:     4-6

INGREDIENTS
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 cups cooked butternut or other winter squash
1 1/2 cups steamed broccoli, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups cooked potatoes or sweet potatoes, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, minced (about 2/3 cup)

DIRECTIONS
In a deep stock pot, combine the stock, squash, broccoli, potatoes, curry powder, and salt.  Puree with an immersion blender to a smooth consistency.  (Alternatively, prepare in batches in a food processor or blender).  Place the stock pot on your stove over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until beginning to bubble.

While soup is heating, heat the olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat and saute the onions, stirring, for 5-8 minutes or until they become soft and translucent.  Remove from heat.

Distribute soup to serving bowls, garnishing with caramelized onions, and perhaps with a touch of sour cream.



Variation:  Swap in other winter squash.

Delicata Muffins

Winter Squash adds a rich, moist, buttery flavor to muffins.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Yield: 14-16 muffins

Wet ingredients:
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup cooked, mashed delicata (or other) squash
1/4 cup canola oil

Dry ingredients:
3 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar or equivalent
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped nuts (toasted hazelnuts are my favorite)
3 tablespoons flax seeds

DIRECTIONS

Preheat your oven to 400F.

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl, then mix in the milk, squash and oil.

In another bowl mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

Stir the liquids into the dry ingredients until just blended. If the batter is not thick enough, add a little more flour. Then stir in the raisins, nuts, and flax seeds. Using a rubber spatula, scrape muffin batter into a muffin pan (I use two small rubber spatulas, and line the muffin pan with paper muffin cups for easy cleanup).

Bake for 18 minutes, or until just firm.

Cream of Butternut Soup

Photo:
Tod Dimmick










Thanksgiving leftovers can transform into something even better than the original.

Prep time: 15 Minutes
Cook time: 18 Minutes
Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS
3 TB olive oil
1 small onion, 1/4" dice
2-4 cups turkey (or chicken) stock
1 - 2 cups cooked butternut squash
1 cup mashed potatoes
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
Salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste
Pine Nuts or toasted sliced almonds to garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and cook the onion, stirring, for 5 minutes or until onions are browned and soft. Process the onions with 2 cups stock, squash, potatoes, cumin, and red pepper with an immersion blender, blender, or food processor. Heat soup over medium-low heat in the saucepan, stirring. Add more stock if necessary, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve, garnished as you like, with bread, salad, and a glass of light bodied red wine. Life is good.

Tip: start with 2 cups of stock, and add more to achieve the consistency you like.

Served up by Tod Dimmick

Squash Macaroni and Cheese

(I saw this on Culinate, and couldn't resist posting it here. If you get to it before I do let me know what you think!)

Recipe

Pumpkin or Squash Puree

Whether you're looking for a simple vegetable dish or the namesake ingredient for a pie, pumpkin (or squash) doesn't need to come from a can - it's simple to prepare.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Yield depends on the size of the fruit.

Sugar pumpkin or winter squash

Option 1: Preheat your oven to 350F
Option 2: Use a vegetable steamer

If you want to use your oven, slice the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds and the filaments. Place halves cut side down in a large baking dish, and add 1/2 inch water. Bake for half an hour or until the flesh is soft. Let cool, scoop out the flesh and run through a food processor with the cutting blade, or mash with a potato masher.

If you use a steamer, after cleaning out the pumpkin, cut it in to chunks and steam for 15 minutes or until flesh is soft, and proceed as above.

Winter Squash and Pumpkins

There is a tremendous variety of winter squash and hopefully Powisset's CSA has helped expand your squash repetoire this year. Pumpkins are just a word used for certain varieties of winter squash, they are really the same.

Winter squash differs from summer squash in that it is harvested at a mature stage, when seeds are fully developed and the rind is hard. This tough skin allows winter squash to be a great storage vegetable for up to six months. Store your winter squash at room temperature or slightly cooler in a dry, airy place (we recommend making them a centerpiece on your dining room table until you eat them)!. Do not allow your squash to freeze. You can refrigerate pieces of raw squash but humid refrigeration will reduce the storage life of whole squashes.

Some winter squash varieties you may find in your CSA share include small, oblong Delicata (you can eat the skin of these!), Butternut, Buttercup (Sweet Mama, Red Kuri, Sunshine), and Acorn. We grow sugar pumpkins (for eating) including Baby Pam and Winter Luxury.

For the most part, pumpkins and winter squash are interchangeable in recipes (even in pies!) and are versatile ingredients. For the simplest way to eat, try cutting a squash in half, scooping out seeds (save them for toasted seeds if you wish!), and laying the two cut sides down on a baking sheet. Bake squash halves at 400-420 F until you can pierce the flesh easily with a fork (20-45 min, depending on the squash). Put some butter, salt and/or maple syrup in your squash half and enjoy! Also try mashing, making pies, roasting/steaming/boiling chunks, soups, adding purees into baked goods, or even sauteeing pieces of small squash (try Delicata). You can freeze pureed squash flesh for later use.

Winter Storage

Storing your bounty of winter vegetables is easy! Remember to check them frequently, pulling out anything with the start of sprouts or rot. Of course, you can still use these, just cut out those bad parts and use the rest. As a general rule, most winter veggies store ideally at 50 F, so if your fridge is full, try an unheated basement, garage or unused bedroom. Just make sure temperatures will not be at freezing at your storage site.

Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes
Keep unwashed in a cool, dry, DARK place, such as a loosely closed paper bag in a cupboard (never in plastic bags). Ideal temperature is 40-50 F. You can still use sprouted potatoes, just cut out the eyes. Sweet potatoes might not last quite as long as potatoes, check them often.

Root Crops (Celeriac, Rutabaga, Turnip, Beets, Parsnips, Carrots)
The ideal place is near freezing with high humidity. You can store these unwashed in a refrigerator in a plastic bag where they should save several weeks. To save fridge space, you can keep them in boxes filled with soil or sand or moist wood shavings in an unheated (but never freezing) part of your house such as a garage or basement.

Onions and Shallots
Keep them in a cool, dark, dry place with good air circulation (not in plastic) where they won’t freeze. Shallots will last longer. Sprouted parts are fine to use.

Daikon Radishes and Leeks
Wrap the unwashed roots in a plastic bag in the fridge. It will keep for a couple of weeks.

Winter Squash
Keep between 50 F and room temperature, in a cool, dry place without direct sunlight. Do not store in the refrigerator.

Pasta & Winter Squash

(The recipe calls for butternut, but any winter squash or pumpkin works well.)
via Mark Bittman.

1 pound peeled and seeded butternut squash (start with a whole squash weighing about 1 1/2 pounds)
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 pound cut pasta, like ziti
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, or to taste
1 teaspoon sugar, optional
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

1. Cut squash into chunks, and place in food processor. Pulse machine on and off until squash looks grated. (Alternatively, grate or chop the squash by hand.) Set a large pot of salted water to boil for the pasta.
2. Place a large skillet over medium heat, and add the butter or oil. A minute later, add the squash, salt, pepper and about 1/2 cup of water. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add water, about 1/4 cup at a time, as the mixture dries out, being careful not to make it soupy. When the squash begins to disintegrate, after about 10 or 15 minutes, begin cooking the pasta. While it cooks, season the squash with the nutmeg, sugar if necessary, and additional salt and pepper if needed.
3. When the pasta is tender, scoop out about 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid, then drain. Toss it in the skillet with the squash, adding the reserved cooking water if the mixture seems dry. Taste, and adjust the salt, pepper or nutmeg as you like; then, toss with the cheese and serve.

Pumpkin or Winter Squash Soups

2 recipes here!

The first, via Mark Bittman.
Soup based on pumpkin, or other winter squash like acorn or butternut, is a luxuriously creamy dish that requires only two main ingredients: a blender and a stove.
Yield 4 servings
Time About 45 minutes
A frequent mistake is to attack the squash with a standard vegetable peeler. Quicker and more reliable is to use a sharp, heavy knife. You'll take part of the flesh with it, but given the large size and small cost of winter squash, this is hardly a concern.

Ingredients
2 pounds peeled pumpkin or winter squash (weigh after peeling)
4 to 5 cups chicken or other stock
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Method
1. Place pumpkin or squash in saucepan with stock to cover and a pinch of salt. Turn heat to high and bring to boil. Cover pan, and adjust heat so that the mixture simmers. Cook until pumpkin is very tender, about 30 minutes. If time allows, cool.
2. Place mixture in blender, in batches if necessary, and puree until smooth. (The recipe can be prepared a day or two in advance up to this point; cool mixture, place in a covered container, and refrigerate.) Reheat, adjust seasoning and serve.

Garnishing the soup:
-Add 1 teaspoon of ground ginger or 1 tablespoon of finely minced fresh ginger to the simmering soup.
-Add 1 teaspoon of curry powder (and if you have it, 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric) to the simmering soup.
-Add 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of allspice and 1 small grating of nutmeg to the simmering soup.
- Serve soup with slices of peeled apples that have been lightly browned in butter.
-Garnish each bowl of soup with 3 or 4 grilled, sauteed, steamed or roasted shrimp, or use crab meat or lobster meat.
-Sauté about 1 cup of sliced mushrooms in butter or oil, and add them as a garnish. Chanterelles are best, but shiitakes (remember to discard the stems) or button mushrooms are also good.
-Dice about 1 cup of the squash (you will almost always have extra, especially with pumpkin) into 1/4-inch cubes, steam until tender, and use as a garnish.
-Garnish soup with chopped chervil, chives, parsley or dill.

2nd recipe, via Smitten Kitchen.
(Any winter squash will work in this soup, not just butternut or acorn.)
Serves 8

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
3 14 1/2-ounce cans low-salt chicken broth
4 cups 1-inch pieces peeled butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)*
4 cups 1-inch pieces peeled acorn squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)*
1 1/4 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
1 1/4 teaspoons minced fresh sage
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 cup whipping cream

Melt butter in large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Add broth, all squash and herbs; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until squash is very tender, about 20 minutes.
Working in batches, puree soup in blender. Return soup to same pot. Stir in cream and sugar; bring to simmer. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill. Rewarm over medium heat before serving.)

* If you are not confident in your knife skills or lack a very very sharp one, I’d suggest roasting the squash, halved and seeded, on a baking sheet coated lightly with oil at 425 until soft, scooping it into the pot, and cooking it the rest of the way there.