Squash Your Fears

Maybe it's the name: squuu-aaash. It doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. You have to wrinkle your nose just to say it, and that's not good.

Maybe it's the fact that when raw, winter squashes are as hard as rocks. The summer squashes -- better known as the more mellifluous crookneck, pattypan or zucchini -- yield easily to the gentle motion of a knife, but the durability that made their heartier brethren a winter staple in the era before refrigeration makes them sometimes seem downright dangerous to cut (but more on that later).

Maybe it's the seeds that have to be scooped out -- which isn't always a simple proposition.

Whatever the reason, we don't eat enough winter squashes, and we should, because they provide nutrients we don't consume nearly often enough.

And you know what? They're versatile and flavorful, and not as difficult to prepare as you might think.

First, the nutritional aspects. Mary Wilson, a registered dietitian and extension nutrition specialist with the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, said orangey vegetables -- such as winter squashes, sweet potatoes and carrots -- are one of the focus areas of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's nutrition programs because we don't eat as much of them as we do vegetables that have other colors, and therefore contain other nutrients.

"It takes a variety of food to get all the nutrients -- vitamins, minerals -- we need," Wilson said. "These orangey vegetables are very different in chemical makeup" than other vegetables, and certainly fruits.

The nutrients inherent to orangey vegetables, she said, have been found to decrease the risk of prostate cancer and reduce the risk of macular degeneration.

She said she worries that younger people in particular aren't eating winter squashes much at all, because observation tells her that the most regular consumers are older people, who may be more familiar with them.

"I'd hate to think that American families don't know much about this category," she said.

So here's a primer: Winter squashes generally include butternut, acorn, hubbard, spaghetti and, yes, pumpkin, plus less-familiar varieties such as kabocha, red kuri, delicata, ambercup and buttercup.

They're winter squashes partly because they traditionally come to harvest in the fall (today they're generally available year-round, but best in the fall) and because historically they were considered good keepers, lasting in a root cellar into the winter months.

"I think it's just the fact that we've always seen them as kind of on the Thanksgiving table and kind of relate to them in that sense -- heavier than vegetables you would grill in the summer," said Joseph Kudrak, executive chef at T-Bones at Red Rock Resort. "A little heavier, a little more hearty."

Their heft traditionally means long cooking times, but with nearly every home kitchen containing a microwave these days, the process can be simplified. Wilson said she used to cook acorn squash for a long time in the oven, but now she cuts it in half, scoops out the seeds, puts it skin-side-up in a glass dish with a little water, covers with plastic wrap and microwaves on high for 8 to 10 minutes. She drains the squash, turns it over and adds brown sugar and butter, then finishes it under the broiler.

Kudrak said when serving acorn squash, he likes to keep it simple, just roasting and finishing with Vermont maple syrup.

With spaghetti squash, he likes to boil the whole thing, pull out the spaghettilike strands inside and finish with brown butter, salt and pepper and parsley.

He's currently using sugar pumpkins -- those would be the small ones, also called "pie" pumpkins -- in a salad. Kudrak said he peels and cleans the pumpkins and cuts them into 1-inch cubes, tosses them with smoked paprika, cumin, salt and pepper and roasts at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes. Then he tosses them with arugula, goat cheese and candied pecans.

Wilson said she also cooks with pumpkins, and will sometimes use larger jack o'lantern pumpkins, despite their tendency to be a little stringy.

Carlos Guia, executive chef at The Country Club at Wynn Las Vegas, said he recently discovered the red kuri squash. He uses it in a soup with chicken stock, garlic, sauteed onions, carrots and celery and some maple syrup, then serves it with a pumpkin Chantilly -- whipped cream seasoned with maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and allspice, drizzled with pumpkin-seed oil and green pumpkin seeds with Creole spices.

Or he might prepare a butternut squash and lobster risotto with wild striped bass on top.

"We love cooking seasonally," Guia said.

Mark LoRusso, executive chef at Botero at Encore, said his favorite winter squash is kabocha squash, which he likes to use for soup. And currently, he said, Botero's pastry chef is making a cheesecake that's about 80 percent kabocha squash and about 20 percent pumpkin, and serving it in hollowed-out baby pumpkins with fresh pear sorbet.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND PARMESAN BREAD PUDDING

3 cups (1/2-inch) cubed, peeled butternut squash

Cooking spray

1/2 teaspoon salt, divided

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

2 cups 1-percent low-fat milk

1 cup (4 ounces) grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3 large eggs

2 large egg whites

8 ounces (1-inch) cubed day-old French bread (about 9 cups)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Arrange squash in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bake for 12 minutes, or until tender. Remove from oven; reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Heat oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Remove from heat; cool slightly.

Combine remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, milk, 1/2 cup cheese, pepper, nutmeg, eggs and egg whites in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Stir in squash and onion mixture. Add bread and stir gently to combine. Let stand 10 minutes. Spoon into a 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until pudding is set and lightly browned.

Serves 6.

-- Recipe from Cooking Light magazine

KABOCHA SQUASH CAKE WITH BROWN SUGAR CREAM

Brown sugar cream:

1 tablespoon water

1/2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar

3 large egg whites

Cakes:

2 cups 3/4-inch cubes peeled seeded kabocha squash (from one 3-pound squash)

1 cup whole milk

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

2/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar

6 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup lager (mild-flavored beer)

1 large egg

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

To make brown sugar cream, place 1 tablespoon water in a cup. Sprinkle gelatin over. Let stand 10 minutes to soften.

Stir cream and sugar in medium saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Add egg whites and whisk until mixture thickens, about 12 minutes (do not boil). Add gelatin mixture; whisk until dissolved. Strain into large, clean bowl. Chill until cold. Cover and chill overnight.

To make cakes, combine squash and milk in heavy small saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Bring to simmer over medium heat. Partially cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until squash is very tender, about 20 minutes. Remove vanilla bean. Drain squash. Place in processor and blend until smooth. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray six 3/4-cup ramekins with nonstick spray. Place 1/2 cup squash puree in large bowl (reserve remaining puree for another use). Add sugar, oil, beer and egg to puree and beat to blend. Sift flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt over; beat to blend. Divide batter among prepared ramekins.

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 18 minutes. Cool cakes in ramekins. Turn out onto plates. Beat brown sugar cream to firm peaks; spoon alongside cakes.

Serves 6.

-- Recipe from Bon Appetit magazine

SPICY APPLE-FILLED SQUASH

1 acorn squash (about 1 pound)

1 Golden Delicious apple, peeled, cored and sliced

2 teaspoons melted butter or margarine

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Dash ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a 1-quart baking dish. Halve squash and remove seeds; cut into quarters. Place quarters, skin side up, in dish and cover; bake 30 minutes.