Recipe Rursday: Fall Squash Dishes

Buttercup Squash 9/12/10.

Not a misprint...this is called Buttercup Squash and it showed up last month in our CSA. I imagine you could use any squash for this very simple recipe: pumpkin, butternut squash, or whatever you have in the house. The first version of this Squash & Beans recipe was inspired by Chris' mom who sent us home with an incredibly tasty White Beans & Spanish Pumpkin dish. It's basically a one-off from Chris' Rice & Beans (with his family's sofrito), but cooked longer to fully cook the squash.

9/12/10.

Rice & Beans with Squash

• Sofrito or Goya's Racaito
  
• Goya Tomato Sauce (Salsa tomato)
• Red or White Beans
• Squash (Buttercup, Green pumpkin, Butternut, etc)
• Green Peppers (optional)

Start with sofrito or store-bought Racaito (see notes on sofrito here) in the sauce pan, add the tomato sauce. Add the beans and pumpkin or squash (and peppers, if you've got 'em) along with a cup of broth and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until squash is tender. Season with S&P, and possibly 2 T of cumin, 1 tsp. of Adobo, and a half a tsp. of red pepper flakes (all optional). Serve over rice.

Butternut Squash, 10/10/10.

Butternut Squash can be so large they're difficult to fully use in one dish. And I've been determined this year to not let the food that comes in our CSA go to waste. I am challenged by the size and sweetness of squash--butternut squash in particular. I have some frozen (already cut in cubes) in the freezer, to throw into bean dishes like the one above. The rest went to soup, and we still have one sitting on the counter.
An unexpected combination--leeks and squash, but I recently found a leek and pumpkin soup recipe that was easy enough to tweak. I love leeks. And now that I know how to clean them with water baths, I don't mind prepping them for soup. (My first time with leeks led to an amazing soup -- Leek & Chickpea Soup-- and some learnin' about leek cleaning).

Leek and Butternut Squash Soup
This recipe is a combination of 4 others I read before building one for the ingredients in our cupboard. Inspiration: Pumpkin-Leek Soup by Real Simple, followed by Food & Wine's Butternut Squash and Leek Soup.

• 1 T olive oil
• 2 celery stalks chopped
• 1-2 cloves of garlic
• 5-6 leeks, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 lbs of butternut squash peeled and cut into small (3/4"-1/2") cubes
• 4 cups of broth
• thyme (or rosemary)
• sour cream (optional)

Heat oil. Add the leeks, stir often and sautee for 5 min. Add celery, and garlic, cook for a few more minutes. Add the squash and broth.

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until squash is tender, about 25 minutes. Season with salt & pepper. Use a hand-held mixer or pour portions of the soup into a blender, to puree until smooth. Add 1/4 cup of sour cream just before serving, for creaminess.

Garnish with thyme or rosemary. Or, garnish each bowl with a teaspoon of sour cream. Now that's a bright soup!