Cooking In Season: Squash

Written By Good Tern

Photo by Lois Anne

SQUASH

By Lois Anne

Growing up, squash was what we did to potato beetles, mosquitoes, and other bugs we considered undesirable. So, I’ve always thought that “squash” is such a funny name for an elegant group of seed-bearing fruits that we call vegetables.

Summer squash – zucchini & yellow – has mostly been harvested by this time of year. The winter squashes – butternut, acorn, spaghetti, buttercup, delicata, hubbard, pumpkin, etc. – are currently abundant. And they are so versatile, for they can be baked, stuffed, sautéed, boiled, mashed into pies, added to stews, their seeds can be baked & salted, etc, etc, etc.

Squash soup is a favorite this time of year. One of my all-time favorite recipes was printed on page 7 of the December 3, 1990, Free Press, and I am happy to share it with you here exactly as it was first published with my notes added in italics.

CURRIED BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

by Francesca Brown

  • 3 apples, peeled & cored

  • 2 ¼ cups finely chopped onions

  • 5 tbsp butter

  • 5 tsp curry powder [I use ½ the amount]

  • 4 lbs butternut squash

  • 3 ½ cups chicken broth [or veggie stock or water if that’s what you have]

  • 1 ¼ cups apple juice

  • dash nutmeg

  • salt & pepper to taste

  • dash garlic powder [or 1-2 finely minced garlic cloves]

  • smidge of grated orange peel [or a splash of orange juice]

Melt the butter in a pot and add the onions and all the seasonings. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until the onions are tender.

Peel the squash, scrape out the seeds and then chop the meat coarsely. Add the chicken broth, apples and squash to the onions once they are tender. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook until the fruit and veggies are tender; about 30 minutes.

Here's where you have a choice. You can either send this mixture through a food processor or simply mash it to the consistency you prefer. Before you send anything through the processor or mash it, be sure and strain the liquid off first, saving it to be added to the soup for your desired consistency.

This soup should yield about 8 to 10 servings, and it freezes very well if stored in a quality plastic freezer bag or container.

 

Enjoy!!

~ Lois Anne

Good Tern member since 1981

Good Tern
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Cooking In Season: Kale