How to prepare winter squash

There are several varieties of winter squash, all of which are grown in the summer but can be stored throughout the winter. At the produce stand we've been selling butternut squash, grown on Stanford campus, and delicatta squash, supplied by ALBA organics.

Butternut squash is shaped like a vase with a large bulbous end and beige colored skin. It has a deep-orange flesh with a sweet, nutty flavor and tastes somewhat similar to sweet potatoes. Delicatta squash looks like a large ranging in 5-10 in length and is typically yellow in color with green stripes along its rind. It has a creamier flesh than most winter squash and tastes like a mixture of sweet corn and sweet potatoes.

(cited from whatscookingamerica.net)

Here are a few ways to prepare your winter squash:

1. Easy (steamed or boiled): Wash, peel, and remove seeds. Then cut squash into 2-inch cubes or quarter, leaving rind on (it will remove easily after cooking). Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a saucepan and place squash on a rack or basket in the pan. Do not immerse it in water. Cover the pan tightly and steam the squash 30 to 40 minutes or until tender. You could alternatively places these 2-inch cubes in boiling water and cook for 30 minutes or until tender.

2. Easy (baked): Wash squash and cut it lengthwise. Cut squash in half and remove seeds. Place squash in a baking dish. Bake at 400°F for 1 hour or until tender. Seeds can be toasted at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes.

3.. Moderate (boiled, pureed): Sherried Winter Squash Bisque

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2-pound winter squash (preferably butternut or delicatta), peeled, cubed (about 6 cups)
• 1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
• 2 tablespoons dry Sherry
• 2 1/2 cups (or more) canned vegetable broth

• 2/3 cup nonfat half in half
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme or 2 teaspoons dried

Heat olive oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add butternut squash and sauté until beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and Sherry. Boil until almost all liquid evaporates, about 30 seconds. Stir in 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until squash it very tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Puree soup in blender in batches until smooth. Return soup to same saucepan. Stir in half in half and chopped thyme. Bring to simmer. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover tightly and refrigerate. Bring soup to simmer before serving, thinning with more broth, if desired.)

(adopted from sherried winter squash bisque recipe as seen on epicurious.com)

This Friday (11/13/09) We're Selling...

From Stanford Community Farm and Gardens: peppers, eggplants, red beets, chioggia beets, red russian kale, dino kale, swiss chard, collard greens, bok choy, winter squash, cabbage, arugula, butterhead lettuce, and cilantro.

From ALBA organics: gala apples, mandarins, kiwis, fingerling potatoes, and broccoli

*All ORGANIC and all LOCAL

Thank you for supporting the Stanford Community Farm and local farmers at ALBA organics by visiting our stand. And remember to check out our blog at http://stanford-producestand.blogspot.com/ for weekly availability, producetips, and recipe ideas.

See you there!

Nicole

How to prepare fingerling potatoes

Fingerling potatoes make delicious side dishes and have a richer, buttery texture than yukon gold potatoes. Here are two easy ways to serve your french fingerlings:

1. Easy (roasted): Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. After washing potato skins roughly chop potatoes in halves or fourths, depending on their size. Place in a small roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle rosemary, salt and pepper over potatoes. Roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until tender.

2. Moderate (boiled): Garlic Mash Potatoes

Ingredients:

fingerling potatoes

butter

garlic

heavy cream or half in half

After washing potatoes skins, fill a large saucepan with water and bring it to a boil on high heat. A single side serving uses about 2-3 small fingerlings. Place potatoes in water and boil for approximately 20 minutes or until tender. Once potatoes are tender all the way through strain them and cut potatoes in half. Place potatoes in a medium mixing bowl and with a potato masher, mash the potatoes (with skin for extra fiber) until they all reach a smooth consistency. A single serving of potatoes needs 1/2 tsp garlic, 1 Tb of butter and 2 Tb cream. In a small sauce pan melt butter. Sautee garlic for 1 minute and then add heavy cream or half in half.

More ways to prepare Beets!

Back in May we posted a few popular ways to prepare beets (raw, roasted, and boiled), which you can find by expanding the May posts in the blog archive.

We'd like to give you a three more options for preparing beets that we hope you'll enjoy.

1. Moderate (boiled and pureed): Borscht

Borscht is a type of soup that originates from Central and Eastern Europe that includes beets, cabbage, tomato, and onions.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 1/2 cups chopped green cabbage (about 1/4 of small head)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 5 cups (or more) canned vegetable broth
• 6 2-inch-diameter beets, peeled, chopped
• 1 cup drained canned chopped tomatoes

• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

• Low-fat sour cream
• Chopped fresh parsley

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add cabbage and onion and sauté until cabbage softens, about 5 minutes. Add 5 cups broth, beets and tomatoes. Bring soup to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.

Puree 2-3 cups of soup in blender; return to remaining soup in pot. This will help thicken the soup while still leaving nice chunks of beets and tomatoes to savor. If desired, add more broth by 1/2 cupfuls to thin soup. Add lemon juice; season with salt and pepper.

Ladle soup into bowls. Top with dollop of sour cream; sprinkle with parsley.

(adopted from beet and cabbage borscht recipe as seen on epicurious.com)

2. Moderate-Difficult (boiled, grated): Beet Ravioli with Poppy Seed Butter

Ingredients:

Filling:

2 large red or golden beets or 4 medium beets (about 14 ounces)

• 1/2 cup fresh whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 2 tablespoons dried breadcrumbs
• 2 teaspoons garam marsala
• 
  

• 
  
• Fresh Egg Pasta:
• 4 large eggs
• 3 cups white flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (if using food processor)
• water

Poppy Seed Butter:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

To make pasta dough in a processor:
Blend flour, eggs, salt, and 2 tablespoons water in a food processor until mixture just begins to form a ball, adding more water, drop by drop, if dough is too dry (dough should be firm and not sticky). Process dough for 15 seconds more to knead it. Transfer to a floured surface and let stand, covered with an inverted bowl, 1 hour to let the gluten relax and make rolling easier.

To make pasta dough by hand:
Mound flour on a work surface, preferably wooden, and make a well in center. Add eggs, salt, and 2 tablespoons water to well. With a fork, gently beat eggs and water until combined. Gradually stir in enough flour to form a paste, pulling in flour closest to egg mixture and being careful not to make an opening in outer wall of well. Knead remaining flour into mixture with your hands to form a dough, adding more water drop by drop if dough is too dry (dough should be firm and not sticky). Knead dough until smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes. Cover with an inverted bowl and let stand 1 hour to let the gluten relax and make rolling easier.

While pasta dough is resting:

Place beets in a large sauce pan and boil for approximately 20 minutes or until beets are very tender. Drain and cool. Peel beets; finely grate into medium bowl. Add ricotta cheese and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in breadcrumbs. Set aside.

Roll pasta with pasta maker:
Divide dough into 8 pieces, then flatten each piece into a rough rectangle and cover rectangles with an inverted large bowl. Set rollers of pasta machine on widest setting.

Lightly dust 1 rectangle with flour and feed through rollers. (Keep remaining rectangles under bowl.) Fold rectangle in half and feed it, folded end first, through rollers 7 or 8 more times, folding it in half each time and feeding folded end through. Dust with flour if necessary to prevent sticking. Turn dial to next (narrower) setting and feed dough through rollers without folding. Continue to feed dough through rollers once at each setting, without folding, until you reach narrowest setting. Dough will be a smooth sheet (about 36 inches long and 4 inches wide). Cut sheet crosswise in half. Lay sheets of dough on lightly floured baking sheets to dry until leathery but still pliable, about 15 minutes. (Alternatively, lightly dust pasta sheets with flour and hang over the backs of straight-backed chairs to dry.) Roll out remaining pieces of dough in same manner.

No Pasta Maker?

For ravioli you can roll the pasta dough with a rolling pin until the dough is approximately 1/8th to 1/4th inch thick. Start by dividing the dough into four pieces and work with each fourth individually.

Cutting Ravioli Rounds:

After you have thin pasta sheets, using 3-inch round biscuit cutter, cut sheet into rounds. Transfer rounds to lightly floured baking sheet; cover with plastic wrap. Repeat with remaining dough.

Stuffing Ravioli:

Place 8 pasta rounds on work surface, keeping remaining dough covered with plastic. Place small bowl of water next to work surface. Spoon 1 teaspoon beet filling onto half of each round. Dip fingertip into water and dampen edge of 1 round. Fold dough over filling, pushing out as much air as possible and pressing edges firmly to seal. Transfer to prepared towels. Repeat with remaining rounds. (Can be prepared 1 week ahead. Transfer to rimmed baking sheet and place in freezer until frozen solid, about 6 hours. Transfer ravioli to resealable plastic bags).

Cooking Ravioli:

Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat and stir in poppy seeds; keep warm. Working in batches, cook ravioli in large pot of boiling salted water until cooked through, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to skillet with melted butter; toss to coat. Divide ravioli among 8 plates; sprinkle with Parmesan.

(adopted from beet ravioli with poppy seed butter recipe as seen on epicurious.com)

3. Moderate (boiled and baked): Chocolate Beet Bundt Cake

Trust me. This cake is worth trying.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (120 ml) canola oil
• 1 1/2 cups (340 g) packed dark brown sugar
• 2 cups (450 g) puréed cooked (boiled or steamed) red beets (about 3 medium-size beets)
• 1/2 cup (90 g) nondairy semisweet chocolate chips, melted
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
• 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons (9 g) baking powder (look for aluminum-free)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C, or gas mark 5), and lightly oil a Bundt pan.

In a mixing bowl, cream together oil and brown sugar. Add beets, melted chocolate chips, and vanilla, and mix well.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to wet beet mixture, and stir until just combined.

Pour into prepared Bundt pan, and bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Cool completely. Before serving, dust with confectioners' sugar and top with blueberries, if desired.

If you want frosting you could also reserve 1/4 cup (55 g) of the puréed beets (or purée a fourth beet) to create a red/pink frosting or ganache, using confectioners' sugar and nondairy butter such as Earth Balance. For a ganache, use the water in which you cooked the beets to thin out the topping. For frosting, fluff up using a hand mixer.

(adopted from chocolate beet bundt cake recipe as seen on epicurious.com)