Check Out This Great Article On Epicurious.com
The cooler months are
prime time for winter squash. Pumpkins may get all the glory at Halloween, but
there are many other versatile, vividly colored, flavorful, and nutrient-packed
varieties to brighten up fall and winter meals. Sweeter, denser, and more firm
in texture than summer squash or zucchini, winter squash take well to a wide
spectrum of seasonings and can be true crowd-pleasers in warming soups, casseroles, risotto, lasagna, and even desserts.
The term winter
squash is a bit of a misnomer: Harvested in the fall, these hardy
vegetables will keep well through the cold winter months for which they're
named. Chances are that sugar pumpkins, acorn squash, and butternut squash are
the most readily available types at local supermarkets. Others, such as
spaghetti, buttercup, and red kuri, are worth seeking out at farmers' markets,
health food stores, or specialty shops. Regardless of the type, to get the best
quality, select winter squash that are blemish- and bruise-free, with an intact
stem and heavy feeling for their size.
Naturally low in fat and
calories, the winter squash family delivers significant
nutritional benefits. For example, one cup of baked butternut squash is rich in
vitamins A (from beta carotene), B6, C, and E, as well as magnesium, potassium,
and manganese. Flavors are generally mild-to-sweet, so squash won't overwhelm
other ingredients and can easily be incorporated into your seasonal cooking.
The orange and yellow flesh helps brighten dishes—a definite bonus, especially
in the colder months, when variety and color can be hard to come by in seasonal
produce. And don't be daunted by winter squash's size, heft, and tough
exterior; in fact, you can sometimes find popular varieties like butternut in
stores already peeled and cubed. Use our recipes to transform the flesh into
something sweet or savory, and you'll know that it's well worth the effort!
Kabocha Squash
Characteristics: The squat, green kabocha—the Japanese word
for squash—has a nutty, earthy flavor with just a touch of sweetness. It's
similar in shape and size to a buttercup squash, but the base points out and
not in.
Recipes to try:
Characteristics: A slim neck and bulbous bottom give the
butternut squash its distinctive bell shape. The muted yellow-tan rind hides
bright orange-yellow flesh with a relatively sweet taste. To make butternut
squash easier to handle, cut the neck from the body and work with each section
separately.
Recipes to try:
Red Kabocha Squash
Characteristics: The red kabocha is squat, like its green
counterpart, and has faint white stripes running from top to bottom. While the
green kabocha is relatively savory, the red kabocha is unmistakably sweeter.
Recipes to try:
Characteristics: Breed an acorn squash with a sweet
dumpling squash, and you get a carnival squash. While the carnival squash's
exterior resembles both of its relatives', its yellow flesh is mellow and
sweet. Use it wherever acorn squash or butternut squash is called for in a
recipe.
Recipes to try:
Alternate name: Pie pumpkin
Characteristics: If your Halloween pumpkin was small and squat,
chances are it was a sugar pumpkin. But more than just decorative, sugar
pumpkins are prized for their classic pumpkin flavor, as well as for their
thick and flesh-packed walls. If you'd like to opt out of canned pumpkin for
your baking and make your own purée instead, reach for a sugar pumpkin.
Recipes to try:
Sweet Dumpling Squash
Characteristics: This whitish-yellow and green squash is
small and compact, making the whole squash the perfect-size bowl for an
individual serving. The flesh tastes very much like sweet potato, and the skin
is edible is as well. Use sweet dumpling squash in recipes calling for sweet
potato or pumpkin.
Recipes to try:
Spaghetti Squash
Characteristics: Take a fork to the inside of a cooked
spaghetti squash, and you'll understand how this variety got its name. By
scraping the flesh, you'll get "strings" that closely resemble
noodles. If you're in search of a healthy pasta alternative, try this very mild-tasting
squash.
Recipes to try:
Blue Hubbard Squash
Characteristics: Most blue Hubbard squash are huge, bumpy,
and lumpy, and often sold as pre-cut wedges. The particular variety pictured
here, the Blue Ballet, is much smaller, making it easier to store and prepare
at home. Underneath the gray-blue skin is sweet-tasting orange flesh.
Delicata Squash
Alternate name: Sweet potato squash
Characteristics: This particular winter squash, with its
pale yellow shading, most closely resembles its summer squash cousins. The thin
skin is edible, but also more susceptible to bruises and rot. When cooked, the
delicata has a consistency similar to that of a sweet potato—creamy and
soft—although the flavoring is a bit more earthy. For a decorative effect, take
advantage of this squash's ridges by slicing width-wise to create scalloped
circles or halves; small- to medium-size delicata work best.
Recipes to try:
Red Kuri Squash
Alternate names: Orange Hokkaido, red Hubbard, potimarron
Characteristics: Like all Hubbards, the red kuri has an
asymmetrical, lopsided look to it. And like the Blue Ballet variety, the red
kuri is smaller and easier to handle. Its yellow flesh is smooth and has a
chestnutlike flavor.
Recipes to try:
Characteristics: Compact and green with paler green
striations, the buttercup can closely resemble a kabocha squash. Its
distinctive bottom with a circular ridge, though, gives it away. On some, the
ridge may surround a more pronounced bump, or "turban." A freshly cut
buttercup may smell like a clean, fragrant cucumber, but once cooked, its
orange flesh becomes dense, a bit dry, and very mild.
Recipes to try:
Acorn Squash
Characteristics: This mildly flavored squash is named for
its acornlike shape. Choose one with a dull green rind; an acorn squash that's
turned orange will have tough and fibrous flesh.
Recipes to try:
http://www.epicurious.com/archive/seasonalcooking/farmtotable/visual-guide-winter-squash#2
Photos by Kelly Senyei
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