Can you name all these (or some?) — I can’t (smile)
There are too many squash varietals to even begin naming them! And, now is the time (roughly Late Summer) when the first of the winter squashes start rolling in from the fields. We’ve got some interesting shaped and colored fellas in our kitchen — one kind of looks like a submarine.
Many of the existing squash varietals are heirloom. They have names like (ok, ok I will name some) Boston Marrow Squash, Candy Roaster, Galeux D Eysines, and New England Sugarpie. And then, there’s Big Max. Like the texture of their names, they come in all shapes, sizes and colors. Many people just decorate their houses with them. Probably because they simply can’t imagine how to eat them. I completely understand. Many of them look, well — like they are from outer space.
Well, I’m about to share a recipe with you that you can use with probably any one of these heirloom lovelies. Basically, I wanted to make a soup from some of them, but had just ran out of soup stock! So, I improvised… What would give my soup some flavor and flare…….? Then, I remembered a sweet potato, peanut soup my friend used to make (West African recipe, I believe) and a light went off in my head.
The proportions in this recipe are not solid, as I eye-ball things a lot. But, I’ve tried to remember what I did (the past two nights, actually — it’s so good!):
The Unknown Named Squash Soup, ready to eat!
The Unknown Named Squash Soup
Serves 3-4
Cut your winter squash in half. Take the seeds out. Place on pyrex dish, face down in 1/4 inch of water. Place in oven at 350 degrees. Cook until soft (about 45 min to 1 hr 15 min, depending on squash). You can also use a can of pumpkin puree if you are in a rush.
In a skillet, saute the following for about 20 min:
1/2 dried cayenne pepper (or 1/4 teaspoon powdered)
1 small-medium sized onion, chopped
1 cup tomato chunks
1/4 cup olive oil
sea salt to taste
pinch of black pepper
couple small chunks of ginger
two cloves of garlic
Place the following ingredients in a blender or food processor:
1/2 cup kefir or yogurt
1/2 cup water
2 heaping spoonfuls of organic peanut butter
the ingredients you sauteed above
Blend well. Scrape the squash out of the skin. Add to blender and blend well. Place in a pot on the stove and gently warm if it has gotten too cool during the blending. Add a few sprigs of cilantro and enjoy!
Lindsay Kolasa 
This sounds delicious! I found a mystery squash growing from my compost last year – it made the best soup ever! I learned that it was likely a hybrid (they do that apparently), and I was unlikely to find another just like it. Enjoy the moment!
That’s great Vinny… I love when treasures come out the compost like that! I had a butternut squash and the *sweetest* cantaloupe do that to me about three years ago (I still remember dearly). The seeds had even wintered over in the compost (in the high reaches of Appalachia!).
Yes, I do believe that squash like to cross pollinate… Folks are known to remedy this by having plants far apart and staggering their planting so that they flower at different times… I found this interesting Q and A on this topic:
“Q. I have a vegetable growing on my back fence which produces a pale green fruit three feet long and 3 to 6 inches in diameter. The plant is vining. What is this and is it edible?
A. No. Squash will cross-pollinate with other types of squash, for example yellow squash with green squash, but they will not cross-pollinate with cucumbers, watermelons or cantaloupes. This cross-pollination will not result in off- flavored or off-colored fruit from this year’s garden but if seed are saved for planting next year the result will be a combination. If yellow squash crosses with a zucchini squash and you plant the seed, the new plant will have the characteristics of both.”
Yums! I just made zucchini and roasted pepper soup last night. Thanks for sharing!
Mmmmm — that sounds yummy 😉
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Lindsay,
Do you have a substitution suggestion for the kefir or yogurt? This soup sounds absolutely wonderful!
Racheal
You can totally do it without that ingredient ~ I did that today! You just might need to add a little water to get it to the consistency you want!