Autumn Pumpkin and Squash Harvest
It’s the time of year when we can look forward to pumpkin spice and everything nice. With the autumn leaves donning their colors, and the weather getting more brisk each morning, fall is the perfect season to slow down, enjoy the bountiful harvest, while preparing for the coming frost.
Before moving to New England, I never gave first frost a second thought. But since migrating to the Northeast, frost takes on a much bigger meaning. Herbs are still in abundance before the first frost. As are the flower fields particularly colorful, fragile, gorgeous Dahlias. The autumn raspberries are particularly large, sweet, and ripe before the frost. And all sorts of squashes and pumpkins are readily available, some with hardened skin to be stored away for the winter months, full of vitamin A and anti-oxidants for the cold weather.
While I’m still pretending it’s sort of summer with my Vietnamese herb rice noodles, full of lettuce and a mixture of mint, parsley, and cilantro, I’m slowly coming around to acknowledge that it’s going to get cold sooner rather than later, and it may be time to stock up on my winter squashes.
Here are some of my favorites, and some ideas on how to prepare them.
Delicata squashes are surprisingly sweet when you slice them up and roast them. 20-30 minutes, 350F in the oven and they become sugary dessert snacks. This one, depending on the thickness of the skin, typically stores for about 1+ months.
Kabocha and red kuri squashes are buttery, creamy, dense, and sweet. They’re perfect for making a squash puree, making a thick bisque, or brightening a dish with a ton of sweetness, such as curry and tagine. One of my favorite ways of using kabocha is in hotpot, or simply steamed with a bit of ginger. We try to pick up Kabocha with thicker skin, and it tends to last us about 2+ months. (though usually dissappears in about 1-2 weeks) Red kuri tends to last a bit shorter for us, about 1 month.
Acorn squashes tend to be more mild and nutty in flavor. What I love to do is simply cutting it in half, scoop out the seeds, and stuff the squash with a mixture of walnuts, coconut oil, and maple syrup. Bake for about 30 minutes and it’s an amazing side dish. This one can store 2+ months and probably much longer, but we typically don’t have it sitting around for son long.
Butternut squash is a classic, along with the new honey nut variety. I typically stick with butternut since honey nut is a tad too sweet for me, but it always reminds me of my first introduction to it from Blue Hill Stone Barn (I believe the restaurant co-created the squash) and the lovely experience there. This is my go-to squash for making a nice squash bisque. Steam, add some broth, ginger, and puree. Incredibly simple, and you can make enough for several meals when you pick up a bigger butternut. Typically stores for about 2+ month for us.
Because we try to pick up local, organic pumpkins for October, our pumpkins tend to be perfectly edible and a waste if we don’t cook it post Halloween. So I’ve been experimenting with pumpkin recipes, my favorite is cooking it with black garlic and onions for that extra umami kick, and making a vegan arepa with it. (note that pumpkins have a tendency to “clean up” soil and pick up a bit of heavy metals, which is why I don’t advice eating your Halloween pumpkin unless it’s organic or you know the farm it comes from) Typically stores for about 1 month.
Spaghetti squash. While taste-wise it’s not quite my favorite and a bit too watery to pick up much flavor from seasoning, spaghetti squash is such a fun one that I still end up with 1-2 every autumn. Great as a pasta substitute, I also used it in place of turnip for a turnip cake recipe, and it makes for a simple side when you just need a bit of vegetable on your plate. Typically stores for a good 3+ months.
Those are some of the more popular pumpkins and squashes in our winter pantry. I’ll probably add to this list as I think of more. The variety of squashes and pumpkins at the farmers markets always amazes me. We found an AMAZING heirloom pumpkin last year, more buttery and sweet than a kabocha and can store for 6+ months! But the farmers didn’t plant that crop this year, so we’ll have to stick with our usual selection. Hopefully I’ll come across other unique ones this fall over the next few weeks!