Baked squash4/24/2023 Or indeed the dish I made with it.īut the combination of cumin, paprika, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, plus a little chilli heat, is one I’ve used successfully before in Harira Moroccan Soup and also my Moroccan-style Spicy Mutton Stew. Do be careful not to go through to the flesh though.Ī sprinkle of salt and pepper, plus a drizzle of olive oil for lubrication is obligatory.Īs well as those, I start building up the flavours with a good sprinkle of a Moroccan-inspired spice mix.īy the way, I make no claims of Moroccan authenticity for the mix. The best way to do this is to make deep slashes in a crisscross pattern all over the cut sides of the hollowed-out squash. But I like to get as much flavour on the squash itself too. Stuffing a squash with good things then baking is an obvious thing to do. Of course, one thing that all those squash have in common, once the seeds are removed, is a handy little cavity for stuffing. And, last week, the pretty harlequin squashes I used for this recipe. The chestnut-like flavour of uchiki kuri. Since I started getting a fortnightly delivery from Moorland Veg Box I’ve tried squash that I’d previously never even heard of. While I’ve nothing against the butternut, I think it’s great that more varieties are now available.Īnd that’s especially true if you subscribe to a veg box rather than relying on supermarkets. Old codgers like me can remember when just about the only squash you’d come across, apart from the huge orange pumpkins at Halloween, was butternut squash. I love to serve the squash on a bed of grains like bulgur or rice, finished with toasted pumpkin and sesame seeds, fresh herbs and a sprinkle of spice. While that’s bubbling in the oven, you can make an earthy tahini sauce to drizzle over just before serving. To make this flavour-packed dish even easier, it features a roasted tomato sauce that can be made in the oven while the squash cooks.Īll that’s left to do then is whizz up the sauce, combine it with tinned chickpeas and pile into the squash halves. As Serious Eats contributor Mari Uyehara wrote in her guide to winter squash, roasting “concentrates the squash’s flavor by evaporating moisture, converting its complex carbohydrates to sugars, then caramelizing those sugars.” And the Maillard reaction-a series of chemical reactions that occur when proteins and sugars in food are transformed by heat-helps produce complex, bittersweet flavors.Moroccan Spiced Baked Stuffed Squash, filled with spicy tomato sauce and chickpeas, finished with a drizzle of tahini sauce, makes a sensational vegetarian or plant-based main course.Ī Moroccan-inspired mix of cumin, paprika, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon and chilli gives a warm, mild heat. Roasting: Roasting deepens squash’s flavor and brings out its sweet, savory notes.This method is similar to boiling and steaming in that you get none of the caramelization or Maillard reaction that enhances sweetness and depth as you do when roasting, but it's quick and convenient, and doesn't involve the stovetop. You’ll place the cut-side down on a microwave-safe plate, then cook it in four to five minute intervals on high until tender. Microwave: To cook butternut squash in the microwave, it must first be cut in half and then cored.Place the squash in the steamer basket, cover, and steam until tender, about 15 minutes. To steam, add two inches of water to a large saucepan fitted with a steamer basket and bring to a boil over high heat. Like boiling, though, it also does little to develop the sweetness or complexity of the squash flavor that can be desirable in some recipes, where the squash's clean, natural flavor is what you want. ![]() ![]() Steaming: Another equally speedy way of cooking squash is to steam it, and you won’t lose as much flavor to the cooking liquid as you would if boiling.To boil squash, fill a medium pot with 4 cups of water or broth, then simmer one 2 1/2-pound butternut squash (peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes) with salt, to taste, until tender, about 8-10 minutes. But if you’re planning to purée the squash with the cooking liquid for soup or serve the squash in a broth, that’s fine, assuming the less sweet, less complex flavor of unroasted squash is what you're after. Boiling does leach flavor from the squash into the water or broth it’s cooked in, which isn’t ideal if you want to drain and serve the squash. Boiling: Though you won’t get the crisp, caramelized exterior that comes with roasted squash, boiling is a quick, effective way to cook the vegetable.
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