One of my favourite ways to enjoy squash is as a soup. By simply altering a basic squash soup recipe by changing some spices or adding some fruit you can have a different type of squash soup every week of the winter! Try adding curry and cumin, or apple or pear, or my personal favourite, chipotle pepper with adobo sauce for some added smoky heat. You can also add various garnishes like cilantro, green onion, toasted squash seeds or yogurt.
This past weekend I put squash on a pizza and was thrilled with the results. I sliced a sweet dumpling squash into 1 inch slices, leaving the skin on. Next, I tossed the squash with olive oil, maple syrup, chili flakes, salt and pepper. The squash was roasted in the oven (400degF) for about 30 minutes (until fork tender). I peeled off the skin and chopped into large pieces. As an aside, you don’t even need to put the squash on a pizza. You can enjoy as is, as a delicious side dish. But if you do want to put it on a pizza - drizzle some olive oil and spread some roasted garlic (can be roasted with the squash) on a freshly rolled out pizza dough. Top with squash and your choice of cheese. I recommend a cambozola or goat cheese. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and parmesan cheese and put in the oven (375degF) until the crust is golden brown (about 20 minutes).
Squash is also great as a ravioli filling, in curries, or simply roasted or pureed as a side dish. I encourage you to try a variety of squash - beyond the old butternut squash standby. Squash is available locally all winter long - so get squashing!
