Cheesy pasta bake with winter squash, prosciutto, and brussels sprouts leaves

A great way to disguise winter squash for those, like my husband, who think they don't like it!


Serves 4

Ingredients:

1/2 lb pasta (I used whole wheat penne; the ridges were good for grabbing the sticky sauce)
2 small winter squash (such as acorn) or one larger winter squash (such as butternut)
1 block gruyere cheese, grated
1/2 container of marscapone cheese
parmesan cheese to taste, grated
1/2 cup milk
1/8 lb prosciutto, thinly sliced at the deli and then cut into ribbons
salt and pepper to taste
brussels sprouts leaves to garnish (peel them off the outside of the sprouts--you could also use frozen peas and add them at the last minute)
nutmeg to taste
pinch of brown sugar (optional, depending on sweetness of squash)
Olive oil for roasting squash

Method:

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Cut squash in half (through the equator for round squash, lengthwise for oblong).  Scoop out seeds and pulp.  Place on a baking sheet.  Sprinkle with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast until squash is completely softened (time will vary depending on variety of squash).  Alllow squash to cool and then scoop it out of the peel.  This step can be done in advance.

2.  Boil a large pot of water.  Add a healthy handful of salt and cook pasta until just al dente (a minute or so under package directions).  Drain.

3.  While pasta is cooking, place squash and marscapone in a food processor and whip until fluffy and thoroughly combined.  Season to taste with salt, pepper, and nutmeg (it should be very seasoned, since the pasta will dilute the flavors).

4.  Add pasta back to cooking pot.  Stir in squash mixture, grated gruyere and parmesan, and a little milk as needed to form a sauce.  Taste for seasoning and adjust.

5.  Put pasta in an ovenproof dish and bake at 350 until cheese is melted and bubbly (about 30 minutes).

6.  While pasta is baking, heat a little olive oil in a skillet to almost smoking.  Add prosciutto and crisp.  Set on paper towels to drain.  Add the brussels sprouts leaves to the prosciutto fat and cook until almost crisp.  Just before serving stir in garnishes and enjoy!

Sweet Dumpling Squash Stuffed with Quinoa

There are two main ways that I prepare squash -- the quick and easy way (microwave), or the slow and tastier way (oven). Microwaving it cooks the insides faster and makes the vegetable easier to cut with a knife. But baking it in the oven gives it the tasty caramelized flavor and brings out the natural sweetness of the squash. For this recipe, I do half and half (5-8 minutes of microwaving, and 20-30 minutes of baking) to save time and maintain flavor.

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
3 sweet dumpling squashes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 diced onion
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (or nut of choice)
1/4 cup raisins (currants or chopped dates work as well)
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

1 tablespoon Grade B pure maple syrup (optional, depending on if you like sweet)
1 tsp butter or Smart Balance

Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 400 F.
2.) Place 3 whole sweet dumpling squashes on a large microwave-safe plate and nuke for 5-8 minutes (depending on the strength of your microwave).

3.) Rinse and cook quinoa in 1 and 1/2 cups of boiling water then let it simmer in pot covered with lid for about 15 minutes.

4.) Saute chopped onions in olive oil until transluscent and then add nuts, spices and raisins and sauté an additional minute (be careful not to burn the nuts). Mix in the cooked quinoa and salt/pepper when done. At this point you can add a teaspoon of butter or Smart Balance for some heavenly buttery flavor :-)

5.) Take the squash out of the microwave and carefully cut squash in half and scoop out seeds.

6.) Spray a baking dish with cooking spray and place squash halves upright on it and stuff it with quinoa/onion/nut/raisin/spice mixture. If you like your squash sweet like me, drizzle some maple syrup on top before putting it in the oven for 20 minutes.

7.) Serve immediately

Note: Organic sweet dumpling squash, unlike acorn, pumpkin or other types of squash, has a thin edible peel therefore less waste! So go ahead and eat the whole thing (except the stem of course)

Delicata Squash Bisque

If you’re like me, you still have a few Delicata squash leftover from October! Even if you don’t, this flavorful recipe from the October 2008 edition of Vegan Yum Yum will work with most winter squash varieties (http://veganyumyum.com/). The author writes, “…this soup has a velvety rich texture and creamy flavor that won’t disappoint.” Enjoy!

Delicata Squash Bisque
Serves 4

Ingredients
3 pounds Delicata squash, deseeded and baked
oil for roasting
4 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon thyme
black pepper
1½ teaspoon salt, more or less to taste

For the Cashew Cream: 1 cup raw, unsalted cashews; 1 cup vegetable broth, divided.

Directions
1. Prepared baked squash in a 400 degree oven.
2. Add the cashews to your blender and ½ cup of veggie broth. Begin pulsing to incorporate, eventually turning the blender all the way on while slowly adding the other ½ cup of broth. Once all the broth is added, let the blender run for 1-2 minutes until very, very smooth. Set cream aside.
3. Transfer baked squash it into a large soup pot. Break up the squash into chunks with a spoon or your spatula and add four cups of veggie broth, thyme, and black pepper. Bring to a boil then turn down the heat and let simmer for 20 minutes, covered.
4. Working in batches if needed, blend the soup until very smooth.
5. Return the blended soup to the pot and add all but ¼ cup of the cashew cream. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Remove soup to bowls (or mugs!) and garnish with extra cashew cream drizzled on the top and some fresh black pepper.

Butternut Bean Soup

Winter squash is an incredible vegetable—encased in a hard, protective skin that allows us to store it for up to several months! Winter squash is also very nutritious, as it is an excellent source of beta-carotene, vitamin C, potassium, dietary fiber, and manganese. In addition, winter is also a good source of folate, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B1, copper, vitamin B6, niacin-vitamin B3, and pantothenic acid. (Source: The World’s Healthiest Foods, http://whfoods.org/.) The following winter squash recipe comes from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, published in 2007.

Butternut Bean Soup
Serves 4

Ingredients
1½ cups dried white beans, soaked overnight and drained
3 medium portabella mushroom caps, sliced (optional)
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon thyme
1 tablespoon sage
4 teaspoons rosemary
2 butternut or blue hubbard squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
olive oil

Directions
1. Combine beans and spices in a large sauce pan, add water to cover amply, simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, until beans are tender and most water has cooked off. Add mushrooms toward the end.
2. While beans are cooking, drizzle a large roasting pan with olive oil and arrange squash skin-side-down. Bake at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes, until fully tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from oven and serve each half squash filled with a generous scoop of bean soup.

Vegan Pumpkin Pie Recipe from Lancaster Farmacy

Black Futsu Squash grown by LFFC member farm Lancaster Farmacy.

Casey Spacht and Eli Weaver of LFFC member farm Lancaster Farmacy submitted this Thanksgiving Day must-have. Casey also serves the Co-op’s General Manager.

Black Futsu, Speckled Hound, or Long Neck Vegan Pumpkin Pie Ingredients
1 12-ounce block silken tofu
2 cups cooked squash
½ cup maple syrup
¼ cup arrowroot powder
½ cup brown or maple sugar
1½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut your squash of choice in half and bake face down in pan with a little bit of water until skin is easily pierced by a fork. Scoop out flesh.
3. Lower oven to 350 degrees.
4. Put all ingredients in food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Pour into prepared pie crust and bake until firm.

Arugula and Carrot with Pumpkin Dressing

I think the stars of this show are the amazing baby arugula that we got last week and, yum, puree of pumpkin. One of the fun things, ahem challenges, of a CSA are working with things that stretch you. This salad came about when I realized that I needed to use up a large bag of arugula and several root vegetables. My wife had a can of pumpkin puree open to make some cupcakes. After going back and forth a bit I ended up with this perfect salad for a crisp autumn day.

Dressing
2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon salt

Salad
1 large handful of fresh young peppery arugula
1 medium sized carrot (about 4 inches)
Optional: 1/4 small apple and 1/4 red bell pepper
Pumpkin seeds for crunch. Can substitute home made croutons.

Toss the salad with the dressing and serve immediately. The carrots we had happened to be purple carrots so I had a wonderful and unexpected contrast of colors. Other contrast are the sweetness of the dressing with the pepperiness of the arugula and the textures of velvet pumpkin and crisp arugula and crunch of carrots.

Spicy Fall Pumpkin Stew

Thank you to Courtney, a CSA shareholder from Leola, PA, for sharing the following recipe, adapted from VegetarianTimes.com (http://www.vegetariantimes.com/). Courtney uses red kuri, kabocha, or buttercup squash in the place of pumpkin and serves with salsa and slices of avocado.

Spicy Fall Pumpkin Stew
Ingredients
1 medium onion, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon chili powder, preferably New Mexican
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ pound tomatillos, husked and quartered (if available)
Cous cous or quinoa
¾ teaspoon salt
1 3 to 4 pound pumpkin, red kuri, kabocha, or buttercup squash
½ cup packed cheddar cheese

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in pot over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Sauté for 7 minutes, or until softened. Stir in chili powder, cumin, and oregano, and cook 3 minutes more, or until spices darken.
2. Add tomatillos, cous cous or quinoa, ½ cup water, and salt. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, partially covered, 10 to 12 minutes, or until tomatillos are softened. Uncover, and cook 5 minutes more to thicken stew, if necessary.
3. Meanwhile, cut top of pumpkin (or squash) around stem to make lid. Scoop out pumpkin seeds and strings. Rub inside of pumpkin with remaining 1 Tbs. oil, and sprinkle generously with salt. Sprinkle cheese in bottom of pumpkin.
4. Fill pumpkin with stew, then top with pumpkin lid. Place on parchment-covered baking sheet and bake 1½ to 2 hours, or until pumpkin flesh is fork-tender. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes.
5. Scoop stew, including pumpkin, into bowls and serve hot.

Pumpkin Pudding Recipe from Elm Tree Organics

Another pumpkin recipe submitted by Eli Fisher (Elm Tree Organics) from the October 9th edition of Lancaster Farming, 2010! Can substitute any winter squash for pumpkin.

Pumpkin Pudding Recipe from Elm Tree Organics
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 package instant vanilla or butterscotch pudding
1½ cups evaporated milk
*16-ounce prepared pumpkin
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon allspice
¼ teaspoon cloves
whipped cream

Directions
In a large bowl, beat pudding and evaporated milk according to directions on the package. Chill for at least five minutes. Add prepared pumpkin or winter squash and spices. Mix well and chill for at least 10 minutes. Serve in dessert dishes and top with whipped cream. *To prepare pumpkin (or winter squash), cut in half and scoop out seeds. Save the seeds to roast in the oven for a tasty snack! Place pumpkin cut side down into a baking dish. Add ½-inch water. Bake in a 450 degree oven until you can pierce the skin with a fork (about 45 minutes to 1 hour). Scoop out flesh with a spoon.

*To prepare pumpkin (or winter squash), cut in half and scoop out seeds. Save the seeds to roast in the oven for a tasty snack! Place pumpkin cut side down into a baking dish. Add ½-inch water. Bake in a 450 degree oven until you can pierce the skin with a fork (about 45 minutes to 1 hour). Scoop out flesh with a spoon.

Pumpkin Cheese Soup Recipe from Elm Tree Organics

Another favorite from Elm Tree Organics! Originally published in the October 9th edition of Lancaster Farming, 2010.

Pumpkin Cheese Soup
Serves 6

Ingredients
4 cups chicken broth
1½ pounds seeded pumpkin (or winter squash), peeled and quartered
1 medium potato, peeled and quartered
¼ teaspoon white pepper
salt, to taste
6 to 8 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated
green pepper, cut in strips for garnish

Directions
In a large saucepan, combine chicken stock, pumpkin, potato, and pepper. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until pumpkin is tender. In a blender, process half or a third at a time until pumpkin is smooth. Return to saucepan. Heat through. Season to taste with salt. Transfer to soup bowls and sprinkle with cheese. Garnish with pepper strips.

Pumpkin Bread Recipe from Elm Tree Organics

Eli from Elm Tree Organics sent the following recipe to the LFFC warehouse with his delivery of purple carrots this week! It comes from the October 9th issue of Lancaster Farming. He wrote in the margins that any type of winter squash can be used for this recipe (see Lancaster Farmacy Black Futsu Squash above!), but that some squash are drier than others and may require more water.

Pumpkin Bread
Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients
3 cups sugar
1 cup oil
4 eggs
*16-ounce prepared pumpkin (or winter squash)
3½ cups flour
½ teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon allspice
⅔ cup water
1 cup chopped pecans, optional

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix sugar, oil, and eggs. Add prepared pumpkin and mix well. Mix flour and spices and add to pumpkin mixture, mixing until blended. If using pecans, stir them in now. Add water, beat well and pour into two greased 9x5x3-inch loaf pans. Bake in the oven for 1 hour. Test center with a toothpick, which should come out clean. Cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack before removing from pan.

*To prepare pumpkin (or winter squash), cut in half and scoop out seeds. Save the seeds to roast in the oven for a tasty snack! Place pumpkin cut side down into a baking dish. Add ½-inch water. Bake in a 450 degree oven until you can pierce the skin with a fork (about 45 minutes to 1 hour). Scoop out flesh with a spoon.

Speckled Hound Squash Coconut Soup

The speckled hound squash in your shares this week come from LFFC member farm Lancaster Farmacy! Casey and Eli, Lancaster Farmacy farmers, wanted to share with you one of their favorite speckled hound squash recipes, adapted from The George Mateljan Foundation for The World's Healthiest Foods (whfoods.org).

Speckled Hound Squash Coconut Soup
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 speckled hound squash, peeled and chopped into ½-inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 tablespoon + 2 to 2¾ cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, grated
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1) Heat 1 tablespoon of broth in a medium soup pot. Sauté onion in broth over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until translucent.
2) Add garlic and ginger, and continue to sauté for another minute. Add turmeric and curry powder, and mix well. Add squash and broth, and mix. Bring to a boil on high heat. Once it comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered until squash is tender, about 10 minutes.
3) Place in blender and blend with coconut milk. Blend until smooth, about 1 minute. Thin with a little broth if needed. Season to taste with salt and white pepper. Reheat and add cilantro.

Hokkaido Squash Tart

Blue Hokkaido Squash grown by Organic Willow Acres, ready to be packed in the shares this week!

Evan found this delicious-looking Hokkaido squash recipe (courtesy of NibbleDish.com) and wanted to share it with you this week!

Hokkaido Squash Tart
Serves 6

Ingredients
Dough
100 grams of whole wheat flour
80 grams of wheat flour pinch of salt
60 grams of butter 5-6 tablespoons of buttermilk

Filling
400 grams of cleaned Hokkaido squash, steamed, skin removed
50 grams of cleaned celeriac, steamed, diced
½ cup ricotta cheese
1 tomato, sliced
½ cup grated hard cheese
2 eggs, beaten salt and pepper chopped parsley

Directions
1. In big bowl sift both flours, add salt and chopped butter, bit by bit, mix, add butter milk, knead dough till it's smooth and uniformed.
2. Keep in refrigerator about 30 minutes.
3. Roll your dough and put it in a round tart baking tray; place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
4. In the meantime, blend the celeriac and Hokkaido squash; add eggs, ricotta cheese, parsley and half of the grated cheese. Mix until smooth and season with salt and pepper.
5. Bake dough about 10 minutes in preheated oven, in 180 C degrees.
6. Remove from the oven.
7. Pour this filling over the dough, and top with slices of tomato and sprinkle with the rest of the grated cheese.
8. Bake about 30 minutes or until golden in color.