These days the market is overflowing with the cute, the odd, the smooth, the stubbly, the quirky and the strange...
Winter squashes exhibit such a variety of characteristics that it can be a bit overwhelming trying to decide what to choose. In the past, I've tended toward what was familiar — working mostly with pumpkins and butternut squash. However, this winter I'm making an effort to branch out a bit and try a few new options. First on the list was a roasted acorn squash, which has been lunch for the last couple of days. These are small, so one can easily be eaten by one person without the fear of wasting. I roasted mine (in a pan with a bit of water) and seasoned it simply with a little salt, pepper, crushed almonds and nutmeg.
Next up is a warty little gold nugget squash that's going to become an eastern-inspired soup. We'll see how lime and ginger play off the nuttiness of the squash...
Spicy Pumpkin and Coconut Soup
(serves 6)
– 2 tbl sunflower oil
– 1 1/2 lb pumpkin or squash (peeled, seeded and cut into chunks)
– a bunch of scallions
– 2 in piece of ginger (peeled & chopped)
– 2 garlic cloves (chopped)
– 2-3 red chillies (seeded and chopped)
– 2 lemongrass stalks (split lengthwise)
– a large bunch of cilantro (stalks & leaves separated)
– 5 C. vegetable stock
– 1 14oz can coconut milk
– 2-3 tbl Thai fish sauce
– juice of 2 limes
Heat the oil in a large saucepan and, over low heat, sweat the pumpkin/squash and onions with a pinch of salt until soft, but not browned (about 15-20 min).
Put the ginger, garlic, chilies, lemongrass and cilantro stalks in another saucepan with the stock and simmer gently, covered for 20-25 min. Let the stock cool a bit, then liquidize and sieve into the saucepan with the pumpkin mixture. Discard the debris in the sieve, then puree the liquid again with the pumpkin mixture until smooth.
Return the soup to the (rinsed-out) saucepan, add the coconut milk, 2 tbl of fish sauce, and juice of 1 lime. Reheat, stirring the whole time to just below boiling. Adjust to taste. Chop most of the cilantro leaves and stir them into the soup. Heat a few more minutes, then serve hot, topped with a few cilantro leaves and/or some extra chile slices.
As a kid, pumpkins and zucchini pretty much rounded out my knowledge of winter squash. Yes, those tiny, strangely colored gourds popped up from time to time as decorative elements, but I never really associated them with food. It's too bad it took me so long to These days, though, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by the many options
