Kids Make Autumnal Spaghetti Sauce

It's winter squash season here at The Hub, so we're getting creative with the Acorn and Butternuts. Yesterday in Kids Cook we roasted acorn squash and puréed it in a food mill for a silky smooth pasta sauce seasoned with garlic and sage. Check out the recipe for this surprisingly simple and comforting dish.

Kids Cook happens on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 4:15-5:00. These hands-on, drop-in cooking sessions feature simple dishes, including seasonal foods, plus garden to table education.

Sensational Squash

Butternut, acorn, spaghetti, pumpkin--squash is the vegetable of the season. Our produce carts in the food pantry have been laden with all sorts of winter squash, which is good news for the frugally minded. Winter squash, properly cured, will keep through the winter if stored in a cool, dry spot, and the culinary possibilities are endless! Whether you go cinnamon sweet or sage savory, these autumnal gems offer something for everyone.


Those thick skins and hard bodies can seem intimidating until you realize that you can simply stab them in a few places (to vent steam) and stick them in the oven whole, bake until they are fork tender, then cut them in half and scoop out the soft flesh. From there you can make pumpkin pie (butternut can be used instead of pumpkin in any recipe) seasoned spaghetti squash, creamy butternut soup, and many other incredible creations (check out this vegetarian lasagne with butternut béchamel).

This season I have been especially taken with the simplicity and ease of transforming an adorable acorn squash into a comforting side dish, or a festive holiday entré.

We demonstrated and sampled roasted acorn squash in the pantry a few times, and plenty of folks seemed familiar with the basic butter and brown sugar method. At our Healthy Happy Holidays cooking workshop we assembled acorn squash stuffed with a tasty rice pilaf (perfect for the vegetarians at your holiday table). Find the recipe here, and be sure to enjoy these versatile, nutrient-rich beauties, while they are in season.

Roasting Fall Favorites

Thanks to the Hoosier Hills Food Bank's Garden & Gleaning Program, the Hub is well stocked with delicious and utterly autumnal acorn squash. These petite, late season squash have also come to us through our CSA with Heartland Family Farms, along with some lovely delicata squash.

Both of these beauties are perfect for roasting, and simple preparations, since they are packed with flavors that will warm your palate, while the oven warms your kitchen.

Our pantry patrons enjoyed sampling these two recipes: Basic Roasted Acorn Squash and Roasted Delicata (or Acorn) Squash with Red Onion.

Roasted Acorn Squash with Wild Rice Stuffing

The acorn squash serves as a bowl for individual servings. An excellent balance of savory and sweet, this pilaf stuffing is autumnal and flavorful. The stuffing is versatile, try different grains, or other varieties of winter squash. This dish is gluten free, and can be made vegan by replacing the butter with olive oil or coconut oil. It works well as a vegetarian main dish at a Thanksgiving meal.

3 medium acorn squash (about 1 1/2 pounds each), halved lengthwise and seeds removed

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar

1/2 medium yellow onion, finely chopped

2 medium shallots, finely chopped (or just use the other half of the onion)

4 celery stalks, finely chopped

1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves (or 2 teaspoons dried)

2 cups cooked wild rice mix (or brown rice, quinoa, cous-cous or a mix of cooked grains)

2/3 cup pecans, toasted and finely chopped

1/4 cup dried cranberries, finely chopped (or raisins or other dried fruit)

1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed

Heat the oven to 450°F and arrange a rack in the middle.

Place the squash cut-side up on a baking sheet, brush 1 tablespoon of the melted butter over the tops and insides of the squash halves, sprinkle with the brown sugar, and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven until just fork tender, about 25 to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, place 1 tablespoon of the melted butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. When it foams, add the onion, shallots, and celery, season with salt and pepper, and stir to coat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until just softened, about 6 minutes. Stir in the thyme and cook until just fragrant, about 1 minute.

Remove from the heat and stir in the rice, pecans, cranberries, and measured salt and pepper.

Divide the rice filling among the roasted squash halves (about 1/2 cup for each) and drizzle the remaining tablespoon of butter over top. Continue roasting until the squash is completely fork tender, the edges have started to brown, and the filling is heated through, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Roasted Acorn Squash Pasta Sauce

Roasted Acorn Squash Pasta Sauce

2 acorn squash (or one large butternut or other orange winter squash) 

4 or more cloves of garlic (in their peels)

4 sage leaves

1 Tablespoon olive oil, sunflower oil or melted butter

1 teaspoon of salt (or to taste)

black pepper to taste

1 cup cream, half and half or milk of your choice

1 oz parmesan cheese (or another hard cheese of your choice)

Preheat oven to 400F. Cut acorn squash in half and scoop out seeds and stringy part. Brush the cut side with oil or butter, put the garlic and sage leaves inside the scooped-out pocket and roast in the oven for 45 minutes or until the squash is very soft, and starting to brown on top.

Allow squash to cool. Remove the garlic and squeeze it onto the squash. Scoop out the squash from the shell and place in a food processor or food mill, or into a small pot.

If using the food processor: add the salt and pepper and process until smooth. With the machine running, pour in the cream in a steady stream. Pour the mixture into a pot and heat on medium low until piping hot but not boiling. Serve over pasta or ravioli of your choice, topped with grated parmesan cheese.

If using the food mill: crank the squash mixture through the food mill and into a small pot. Warm the mixture over medium low heat and add the salt, pepper and cream, stirring to incorporate the cream. Don’t let the sauce boil once you have added the cream. Serve over pasta or ravioli of your choice., topped with grated parmesan cheese.

If using the immersion blender: add salt and pepper and blend until smooth, in the pot. Add the cream, and blend until velvety smooth. Warm the sauce over medium low heat but don’t let the sauce boil once you have added the cream. Serve over pasta or ravioli of your choice., topped with grated parmesan cheese.

Roasted Delicata (or Acorn) Squash with Red Onions

You can use delicata or acorn squash here, the delicata has a tender skin, and never needs to be peeled. If you want to peel the acorn squash, wait until after it cooks. We adapted this one from myrecipes.com, but it looks like it originally came from Adam Hickman at Cooking Light. 

Ingredients

·       1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

·       1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

·       1 tablespoon honey 

·       2 teaspoons olive oil

·       3 garlic cloves, sliced

·       2 (12-ounce) delicata or acorn squashes, halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch slices

·       1 (1-pound) red onion, cut into 12 wedges

·       1/2 teaspoon salt, divided

·       1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided

·       Cooking spray

·       3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Preparation

1.    Place a baking sheet in oven. Preheat oven to 475° (leave pan in oven).

2.    Combine first 5 ingre­dients in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add squash and onion; toss gently to coat. Sprinkle vegetable mixture with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Carefully remove preheated pan from oven; coat pan with cooking spray or brush with oil. Arrange vegetable mixture in a single layer on pan. Bake at 475° for 20 minutes or until tender, turning once. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and chopped parsley.

Adam Hickman, Cooking Light
OCTOBER 2013

Basic Roasted Acorn Squash

We found this simple recipe on chow.com, along with this fitting description:

After roasting, the center of this acorn squash becomes a tiny swimming pool of melty butter and molasses-y brown sugar—need we say more?

INGREDIENTS

·       1 medium acorn squash (about 1 pound)

·       1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces and at room temperature

·       Kosher salt

·       Freshly ground black pepper

·       2 teaspoons packed light or dark brown sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat the oven to 400°F and arrange a rack in the middle.

1.     Meanwhile, cut the squash in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Cut a small slice off the rounded side of each half to stabilize the halves so they sit upright.

2.      Place the halves cut-side up on a baking sheet. Using your fingers, coat the flesh of each half with 1 piece of the butter, then season generously with salt and pepper. Divide the sugar and remaining butter pieces between the squash cavities. Roast until fork tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.