Pumpkins & Squashes: Over 100 Sweet & Savory Seasonal Recipes
176
Pumpkins & Squashes: Over 100 Sweet & Savory Seasonal Recipes
176eBook
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Overview
Everyone knows and loves the traditional pumpkin—plump and golden carved into a Halloween lantern—and perhaps you’ve prepared a pumpkin pie or a thick pumpkin soup. But in the last few years other more interesting and varied varieties such as patty pans, kabocha, butternut, acorn, and spaghetti squashes have become available from farmer’s markets and allotment gardeners.
For all those cooks who have wondered what to do with these glorious new vegetables, or those who simply want some inspirational ideas for the good old pumpkin or what to do with that glut of zucchini—here are the recipes. From Pumpkin and White Bean Soup to Minted Zucchini Soup; from Squash Couscous to Zucchini Bread; from Spicy Pumpkin, Rum, and Raisin Ice Cream to Pumpkin Wine, there are over one hundred easy-to-prepare dishes such as stews, pasta sauces, pickles, relishes, cakes, breads, quiches, biscuits, and jams, to take you through the entire year.
For those enthusiasts who like to grow their own produce there are cultivation instructions and seed sources as well as advice on picking, storing, and a guide to varieties.
“This book offers countless recipes for all varieties of squash. There are sweet and savoury recipes alike, including a few surprises.” —Mutherfudger
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781909808607 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Grub Street |
| Publication date: | 02/20/2019 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 176 |
| File size: | 309 KB |
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
A LITTLE HISTORY
Pumpkins and squashes, and their close relatives, gourds, have an ancient history – evidence has been found of their use almost 10,000 years ago. Gourds, with shapes ranging from more or less spherical to bottle-shaped, are still hollowed out and used as storage pots for grains, nuts or liquids (not to mention penis protectors, although where the larger gourds are used, one wonders if a certain amount of boasting is involved.)
They make spoons, and scooping implements. I still use a half-calabash which was given to me by a Guyanan neighbour when I lived in a flat with an enormous cast-iron bath but no method of heating enough water to fill it. With a bucket full of hot water, I could stand in the bath and scoop calabashfuls of water over myself – a very effective way of 'showering'. It gets used for hair-washing now, but I'm still very grateful to Joyce for the gift.
They have been, and still are used as cricket cages, breeding boxes for canaries, pipes for tobacco and (whisper it) marijuana, fishing floats, ceremonial masks, and all sorts of musical instruments, from maracas and drums to flutes for snake charming.
Gourds (Lagenaria) evolved throughout the tropical world, but the edible summer and winter squashes and pumpkins are New World natives, originating from South and Central America. You occasionally come across a writer who states that pumpkins were used by the Romans, but this is an error due to the fact that the word pumpkin is derived via the 17th Century word pompion from the Greek word for melon – pepon, which was also used by Romans.
Brought by European explorers from the Americas, where they are traditionally eaten mainly in soups and stews (and where the seeds were used as a tasty way of getting rid of intestinal worms), they became incorporated into the cooking of their new homes. In Italy pumpkins are used in risotto or to stuff pasta, in France the courgette was traditionally preferred, in England it was the mature version of courgette, the marrow that caught the gardener's imagination.
European settlers in North America were given pumpkins by the native Americans, together with other local foods including turkeys and cranberries. Their gratitude for these gifts, which helped them survive their first year, is celebrated each November in the traditional Thanksgiving dinner of roast turkey and pumpkin pie.
Americans have, for many years, also enjoyed the more complex taste of the winter squashes, but it is only in the last few years that these have been freely available in Europe. In France, pumpkins used to be thought of as cattle food, but they, and winter squashes, are enjoying a surge of popularity.
Few people realise that the fairy story 'Cinderella' originated in France, where the heroine is called Cendrillon. Quite what made someone first think that a pumpkin could be used as a coach I don't know, although anyone who has grown a big pumpkin is aware of the almost magical way it expands from day to day. I've always loved that story, and when I acquired my first Mercedes car (a very old one, and quite cheap) I called it Pumpkin as a propitiation to the gods, in case it turned into a pumpkin overnight. I've had a sequence of them since, and they've all been called Pumpkin. It obviously works, because none of them has turned back, even if I am out in them after midnight!
CHAPTER 2DEFINITIONS
I am often asked "What's the difference between a pumpkin and a squash?" Unfortunately there isn't a simple answer. If you want the strictly scientific answer, it is that all are members of the Cucurbita family, which is split up into roughly seven types. Three of these are in common cultivation:
• C. pepo – this type is thought to have originated in Mexico, and includes most of the smaller winter squash such as Acorn or Golden Delicious and all the summer squash.
• C. moschata – this type is thought to have originated in Central America and includes some of the pumpkin varieties and some winter squash.
• C. maxima – this type originated in an area of South America which covers Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay and Northern Argentina. It includes both pumpkins and winter squash.
The main way to tell the difference is by the stem of the fruit, but even this is not fool-proof. In general, though, the stem of C. pepo and C. moschata are angular, with five distinct sides, while the stem of C. maxima is round.
The problem is that all the Cucurbita family are extremely promiscuous and will cross-breed with other branches of the family. This has proved beneficial when resulting in the tremendous variety of types and cultivars, but not when trying to give a simple answer to the question we started with.
Then, to add to the confusion, in some countries, (especially Australia) squash are called pumpkins and pumpkins are called squash. The only answer is to do what I do and separate them by their eating qualities. So if it is soft skinned and white fleshed, I either call it a courgette or summer squash. Pumpkins are the round jobs with delicate or bland tasting flesh, almost always orange coloured and more or less spherical (except that just to be awkward, some of the tiny ones are nearly white and the French variety Rouge Vif d'Etamps is a deep reddish-orange). Then the denser fleshed varieties with the nutty and sometimes almost sweet taste are winter squash.
If all that has got you even more confused than you were to start with, just look at the varieties detailed on pages 16-18 to see which category they are under.
CHAPTER 3GROWING YOUR OWN
Whether you grow cucumbers, courgettes, summer squash, pumpkins or winter squash, the cultivation requirements are the same. All of these members of the Cucurbitacea family are tender, which means they won't tolerate any frost. You can either start the seeds in a greenhouse or on a warm windowsill about 3 – 4 weeks before the last possible frost in your area, or wait until that date and sow the seeds out of doors under the protection of glass or plastic. (This could be a conventional cloche, a home-made cloche made from an old plastic drinks bottle, or some plastic 'fleece'.)
All the seeds should be sewn in individual pots, as the young plants are too delicate to tolerate being separated if grown in a large seed-tray. Cucumber seeds are small and can be sewn in 5cm (2") pots, but courgette, pumpkin and winter squash seeds need a 7cm (3") pot. Any good seed compost will do, or you can do as I do and use Growbag compost. Another medium to start the seeds in is a grass turf, cut into squares and stood, grass side down, in a seed tray. The type of plastic net covered compost modules known as Jiffy pots are not suitable for these seeds, but other modular seed trays such as rigid 'plug-packs' or expanded polystyrene trays are suitable.
Put the seeds into the compost on their sides, and cover them with about their own width of compost. Keep the compost moist and protect the pots from mice, who are very fond of these seeds. You should see the seed-leaves emerge above the soil in 7 – 10 days.
When it comes to transplanting the young plants out of doors, cucumbers can be spaced at 30cm (12") intervals in rows 60cm (24") apart, but all the others should be given much more space. Bush types (courgettes, Pattypans and some winter squash) need at least 1 metre (3' 3" between plants, and vine types need this same spacing between plants and between rows.
You can also grow cucumbers in Growbags, but most of the others require more growing medium and water supply than the average Growbag offers. I have grown cucumbers (3 plants) and Sweet Dumpling squash (1 plant) quite successfully in tubs 50cm (20") diameter, using compost from Growbags. I trained the vines up a teepee of bamboo canes to provide an attractive feature on my patio.
Cucumbers, courgettes and other summer squash should be planted where you can easily reach them to pick the fruit, which you will need to do every other day when they get into full production. Winter squash do not need to be picked until the fruits are ripe at the end of the season, so you don't need to worry about getting at individual plants.
The soil in your squash patch should be well composted and moist, as they are greedy feeders. Additional granular fertiliser can be given, both in the planting hole and raked into the surrounding soil. Vine types will root down wherever the trailers touch the soil, and they will soon cover the whole patch with greenery.
You don't have to hide your pumpkins or squash away – they can be used as ornamental plants. All courgettes have 'architectural' leaves, standing out away from the main stem, deeply cut and silvery tinged. Golden courgettes have a gold tinge to their leaves which makes for a very attractive 'spot' plant. Vine types offer scope for even more fun – they can be trained up supports, or even over tunnels or arches, where the fruits hang down like giant jewels. You may not think that the stems could be strong enough to allow a large pumpkin to dangle, but I have done this with all the vining types, and I promise you that the stem of even a 10 kilo (20 lb) squash is strong enough to keep it safe.
Problems
In very hot weather, the leaves will wilt by the end of the day. If they do not recover and look perky by the following morning, you should give them plenty of water. Many people fail to understand just how much water vegetables need when they are growing – it should be the equivalent of 3cm (1") rain per week, or 4 – 5 gallons per plant. Giant pumpkins grown for show need much more.
There are two main diseases likely to trouble you – powdery mildew and cucumber mosaic virus. Mildew can be controlled by spraying with a fungicide, but the virus is best dealt with by pulling out and destroying any affected plants before the disease spreads.
Picking
Cucumbers, courgettes and summer squashes should be cut with a sharp knife through the stem of the fruits, taking care not to sever the stem of the parent plant. Be careful to keep the cut ends away from your clothes, as they exude a clear liquid which sticks and cannot be removed. (I once ruined a good jumper by holding the hem out and using it to carry a load of courgettes.)
Winter squashes should be left on the plant as long as possible, so that they are really ripe before you pick them. The longer you can leave them, the better they will store. Normally, the leaves will start to wither and the plants will begin to look pretty sad by the end of the summer, and once the stems seem to have dried off you can cut the fruits. Cut them with a very sharp knife at the point where the stem of the fruit joins the plant, being careful not to lift the fruit away from the plant so that the 'handle' breaks off the fruit. If this does happen, use those fruits first, as they will not keep as long, tending to rot from the damaged end.
Once picked, the fruits should then be 'cured' by standing them in a greenhouse or other warm place. The ideal temperature is 25°C for about 10 days. This hardens the skin and seals the ends of the stems.
Storing
Store your crop of winter squashes in a cool dry place. The ideal temperature is 1°C and the ideal humidity is 75%. I keep mine in my (unheated) utility room, but a frost-free shed or cellar is equally good, as long as it is rodent proof.
Although the above is the ideal, you can keep them in a warmer place for several weeks, which will allow you to use them for decorations.
They don't have to be separated from each other – you can pile them up if you wish, but you should check them regularly in case any of them are starting to rot. The first sign of this is usually round the stem area, but sometimes depressed blemishes will appear on the skin. As soon as you see these signs, use those specimens straightaway. A fortnightly check for the first two months should be sufficient, but after that you should check them every week.
Fun for the children
While they are still growing, all the Cucurbit family react to wounds on their skins by exuding a liquid which forms a warty raised area. You can take advantage of this by writing children's names (or making patterns on specimens which you intend to use for decoration) with a blunt pencil while the fruits are still green. Then at harvest time, set the children loose in the pumpkin patch to find their own personal pumpkin!
CHAPTER 4BUYING PUMPKINS AND SQUASH
Pumpkin
Pumpkins grow during the summer and are ready to harvest from early autumn – just in time for Hallowe'en in the Northern hemisphere. However, they are often available in big supermarkets from autumn through to late spring.
Miniature pumpkins weigh about 125g (4-5oz) and are available under several named cultivars – Baby Boo, Jack Be Little or Munchkin – all of which are suitable for stuffing.
Next come the size often called 'pie' pumpkins, weighing from 750g (1½ lbs) to 2½ kilos (5lbs), with names like Little Lantern or Small Sugar.
Medium sized pumpkins, such as Connecticut Field, Ghost Rider or Jack O'Lantern can be anything from 1 kilo (2 lbs) to 10 kilos (20 lbs) in weight. Most have golden skins, and will keep for four or five months. If you want a dual purpose pumpkin, which will give you easily hulled seeds as well as usable flesh, choose Godiva, or Triple Treat.
Large pumpkins, such as Hundredweight (with a pinkish skin) and Rouge Vif d'Etamps, (with a bright reddish-orange skin), weigh anything from 10 kilos (20 lbs) to 25 kilos (50 lbs). They will also keep well until you open them, after which you will have to use the flesh or cook and freeze it within a week.
Enormous pumpkins, such as Atlantic Giant, Show King or Sumo, are mainly intended for those who want to grow a real giant to win prizes. Despite what you may have heard, they are still edible, and some are quite flavoursome – but you're going to need a very large freezer if you want to go for the world record, which is, at the time of writing, over the 450 kilo (1000 lbs) mark!
I've never been able to detect much difference in flavour between any of the varieties of pumpkin, so choose your purchases by size. I grew Atlantic Giant one year and although my biggest was no more than 30 kilos (60 lbs) I found it tasted just as good as any of the smaller pumpkins.
Summer Squash
This category includes what are called courgettes in the UK and France and zucchini in America and Italy; pattypan squash; and the pale yellow Crookneck and Straightneck which are popular in America.
These grow during summer, and have a long harvesting period, from mid to late summer. However, they are available in supermarkets year round.
A courgette, by my definition, is a cylindrical fruit, which is either the same diameter all the way along, or may have a slight 'bell' at the end furthest from the stalk. Each seed company seems to have their own names for the different varieties – the only real difference is in the colour, which can be medium or dark green, very pale green (sometimes called 'white'), or golden. They all taste the same.
Pattypan squash, sometimes called Custard Marrow, also have many names, and also come in very pale green, gold, or dark green, and also all taste the same.
Summer squash are mainly yellow skinned, have a bell-shape, and may have a crooked 'neck' (the end nearest to the stalk). Some are knobbly skinned. They tend to be moister fleshed than courgettes.
Winter Squash
This is where the real variety of shapes, colours, sizes, and also textures and flavours appear. As a general rule, the types with softer flesh do not keep as well as those with denser hard flesh, so if you grow your own or buy a lot of squash at a farm shop or Pick Your Own outlet, these should be used first. They are harvested during autumn, but are available in supermarkets for a very long season. The two most popular varieties (with supermarket buyers, that is), Acorn and Butternut, are available almost year round, as they are grown in vast quantities in both hemispheres.
Perhaps I should explain that comment about supermarket buyers. There are two considerations here. The first is that apparently they have set a standard price-per-weight-unit for squash, regardless of variety. This would be fine if all varieties produced the same weight of fruit per hectare, but they don't. The two which are, to my mind, the most flavoursome, (Delicata and Sweet Dumpling) are in the 'low weight per hectare' category, so the big commercial growers are reluctant to grow them.
The second part of this is that the other really tasty varieties (Banana, Buttercup and Crown Prince) although 'high weight per hectare' are weighty fruits with tough skins. Since the average shopper only wants to buy a kilo or so at a time, this means the fruits have to be cut up before they can be displayed. That brings all sorts of logistical problems to the situation – the danger of supermarket staff cutting themselves when knives slip, the wrapping of the pieces, the fact that they only keep a couple of days after they've been cut – all of which would put the price up.
The answer to this, if you want to use these varieties of squash, is to bulk buy your season's supply at a farm shop or Pick Your Own farm, and store it at home. I have indicated in most recipes which is the most appropriate type to use.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Pumpkins & Squashes"
by .
Copyright © 2013 Janet Macdonald.
Excerpted by permission of Grub Street.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
AT A GLANCE RECIPE LIST,
INTRODUCTION,
A LITTLE HISTORY,
DEFINITIONS – WHAT'S A PUMPKIN AND WHAT'S A SQUASH,
GROWING YOUR OWN,
BUYING PUMPKINS AND SQUASH,
CHOOSING WHICH SPECIMEN TO BUY,
PUMPKINS AND SQUASH FOR DECORATION,
PREPARATION FOR COOKING,
INGREDIENTS,
SERVINGS AND MEASURES,
RECIPES,
WINTER SQUASH,
soups and stews,
savouries and main courses,
pumpkin or squash chips,
pumpkin seeds,
breads,
jams, chutneys, pickles, relishes, biscuits, cakes and puddings,
SUMMER SQUASH AND COURGETTE RECIPES,
BASIC RECIPES,
INDEX,