An easy recipe for not-Thanksgiving
Because unfortunately, your family also needs to eat today, tomorrow, Wednesday, and Friday...
Hi friends,
We regret to inform you that Thanksgiving dinner is in fact not the only meal that you and your family will be cooking and eating in the coming days. Thankfully, we’re in the midst of squash season, so if you do one thing in the kitchen this week—that’s not in service of the holiday meal—we recommend roasting an entire kabocha squash. (Consider this the first recipe in what will be a recurring column called, “If you make one thing this week…”)
For the uninitiated, kabocha is an especially delicious member of the squash family whose velvety texture lends itself well to being puréed, spread or folded in. The roasting method below is not only the least labor-intensive way to do it, but you also don’t have to risk your life by hacking repeatedly into a squash with a gigantic knife, and struggling to cut it into smaller pieces. Just cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, and hit it with a little olive oil. Bada-bing! Once it’s done, you’ll have a whole batch of lovely roasted squash on hand that can be used in a variety of ways to get lunch or dinner together quickly.
The Stats
Active time: 5 minutes (really)
Passive time: About an hour
Ingredients:
1 big kabocha squash (3-4 lbs.)
Olive oil
Yields about 4 cups of squash purée
The Method
Preheat your oven to 325F. With a big, sturdy knife and two dry hands, cut the squash in half, from the north pole to the south, as opposed to along the equator. Once your squash is halved, scoop out the seeds and stringy bits with a spoon and either toss them or set aside to wash and roast later.
Drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil on the flesh and skin of each half and place face down on a roasting pan. (If you have sweet potatoes on hand, or an eggplant or two, poke a few of those with a fork all over, give ‘em a quick olive oil grease, and throw them on there, too).
Roast for 45-60 minutes, depending on the size of the squash. Don’t worry too much about taking it out the moment it achieves doneness—it’s pretty flexible. In fact, we regularly forget we’ve got a squash in the oven until the smell of caramelizing squash sugars begins to fill the house. If, as it has for us, a touch of forgetfulness has attended parenthood, set a timer—very cooked squash is still great; squash charcoal is no use to anyone.
Your squash is done when a knife pierces it very easily and it begins to look a bit deflated. Remove it from the oven and set aside to cool. When the squash is no longer the temperature of molten hot lava, you can spoon out chunks to serve to your littlest diner—it’s soft enough without mashing to be safely handled and eaten by babies 6+ months old. Our toddlers still love to eat straight handfuls of kabocha.
Cooked squash, skin and all, can be stored in an airtight container and used in any of the below ways over the course of the week. If, however, you notice that the cooked flesh of your squash seems a bit dry, flaky or chalky—it happens!—scoop it into a bowl, add a few splashes of warm water and a tablespoon or so of olive oil and put it through a ricer, or process in a Cuisinart or blender until it becomes a more uniform purée. Store in an airtight container as above.
A note on squash skin: it’s edible! That goes for all types of squash, but some skins are tougher than others. Kabocha’s skin generally gets pretty tender with roasting. That said, most of the recipes below call for just the scooped-out flesh. If you’re making something like our Banana Double Squash Muffins (coming soon!) or a chunky stew, or if you’re processing it further in a blender or Cuisinart, you can add the skin in too—more fiber! More nutrition!
A quick, cozy dinner for the whole family or (with a carb swap) a tasty packed lunch
Roasted kabocha
Tortillas
Cooked beans (homemade or something tasty and ready-to-go like Better Bean)
Queso fresco, feta, Monterey Jack or whatever cheese you’re into
Coarsely chopped cilantro
Pickled onions (optional)
Your favorite bottled or jarred salsa (totally optional. However, we strongly recommend the outrageously delicious Hot Mama Smoky Coffee Chili Oil for any adult diners)
Mix some scoops of squash flesh with fresh lime juice and a few pinches of flaky salt (about 1/2 a lime for each cup of kabocha). Warm a stack of tortillas and smear the squash in a thick stripe down the center of each tortilla with the back of a spoon—1-2 tablespoons of squash per tortilla. Top with a spoonful of warmed beans, a sprinkle of cheese and pickled onions, and any other toppings you love.
Variations
If you threw an eggplant into your oven alongside the squash until it is thoroughly browned and shrively and oozy inside, it makes a great stand-in for braised meat in these tacos — we just season with salt, add a little olive oil and some smoked chili flakes or smoked paprika.
To turn this into a tasty lunch, layer everything into a lavash or other large, thin flatbread, maybe add some avocado and a leaf or two of lettuce and roll it into a wrap.
This one’s for babies—but note: it contains sesame, a common allergen!
1 cup of roasted kabocha
Lime
Tahini
Cilantro, dill or basil
Squeeze the juice of half a lime into 1 cup of squash flesh, add a spoonful or two or minced herbs and mix with a fork, making sure to smush out any large chunks. Using your (clean) hands, roll squash into balls about the size of quarters. Drizzle with tahini and serve.
A quick breakfast for all ages. Think “caramel eggs”— you gotta taste it to believe it.
1 egg
1 heaping tablespoon of roasted squash
Vigorously whisk the squash with the egg until totally integrated and scramble as you usually do in a little bit of butter. Don’t freak out when your eggs are fluffier than usual! You can also add fine herbs (dill is great here), or a little bit of feta or Parmesan. If you’re feeding a bigger appetite, this recipes doubles or triples well.
A squashy mac and cheese dupe that has vegetables (squash), lots of protein (cottage cheese*) and pasta (pasta)—truly something for everyone**. It’s seriously delicious.
1 cup short-shaped pasta (legume pastas work well with this recipe for added protein and veggies)
1 cup cooked kabocha
½ cup full-fat cottage cheese
1 tablespoon of butter or olive oil, or a bit of both
½ cup shredded cheese (mozzarella or Monterey Jack are both great here). UPDATE! We discovered that a half cup of white beans like cannellini or navy (homemade or canned and drained) can be subbed for the shredded cheese for a super creamy and even more nutritious sauce. Just add them to your food processor along with the squash and cottage cheese.
Parmesan and black pepper to taste
Stock or bone broth (optional)
A wee pinch of nutmeg (optional)
Set a pot of water on to boil. When it comes to a rolling boil, add the pasta and cook the living daylights out of it (if serving to babies/toddlers) or according to the directions on the package (if cooking for family members who enjoy texture). In a food processor or blender, blitz the squash, cottage cheese, and oil or butter until it’s smooth.
In a nonstick pan, add 1/8 cup of water or bone broth, the cottage-cheesey-squash purée and grated cheese and warm over low heat—it might be a bit gloppy at first, but stir it gently with a spatula until the ingredients have combined (you’re aiming for the texture of nacho cheese). Add the nutmeg (if using) and stir until the grated cheese has just melted—then turn off the heat. (If you have to wait a few minutes for the pasta, then you’ll want to reheat the sauce with a splash of water over low heat until it’s loose and saucy before folding in the pasta.) Strain the cooked pasta, add it to the sauce and thoroughly combine, adding a splash more of the pasta cooking water or bone broth, if necessary. Shower with Parmesan, and fine sea salt and black pepper to taste.
*A half-cup serving of cottage cheese has about 12-14 grams of protein, roughly the same amount found in three eggs or 1.5 ounces of chicken breast. (The New York Times)
**While dairy that’s been cultured—such as cottage cheese—can be introduced to babies from 6+ months, it’s worth noting that most cottage cheese brands contain a significant amount of sodium (up to 3,000mg per serving) which is not advised for babies under 12 months, and should only be served in moderation thereafter. Look for brands that are low sodium or follow Solid Starts’ advice and rinse the curds which can reduce the sodium content up to 60%.
We’d be remiss not to acknowledge how inherently complicated this holiday is—or how especially complicated the celebration feels this year. Below are just a few of the organizations whose work we admire. If you’re in the position to support any of them—or anyone that’s doing work that inspires you—we encourage you to do so.
thank you for including baby versions!! just started giving my 7 mo old real food and this is so helpful!
Just made the kabocha squash tacos. While my preschooler did not even try them (plain tortilla and avocado only), my husband and I enjoyed. Looking forward to trying the eggs tomorrow morning!