Adventures in Kabocha Squash

Now that we are in the midst of Fall, all the local markets have an abundance of squash to choose from.  There's the familiar butternut and acorn, but also carnival, hubbard, turban and other lesser known varieties.

This means, of course, that I finally was able to procure kabocha squash.  I wrote in a previous blog that I had a delicious preparation of kabocha squash at SEI back in March and that I've been stalking it ever since.  Now that squash is available in abundance, I was able to procure one.  Granted, once I bought it, I didn't have the foggiest idea what to do with it.

So, I did some research.  Kabocha is also known as Japanese Pumpkin, likely because of it's pumpkin-like shape and the fact that it is primarily grown in Japan.  It is also a popular component of vegetable tempura, which means many of us have probably had it without realizing it.  Kabocha, like many bright orange vegetables, is rich in beta carotene, and also a nice source of iron, vitamin C and potassium. 

I did some googling to see how kabocha is often prepared.  I saw a lot of soups with thyme, and I figured I could get the same flavors by cubing and roasting the kabocha and seasoning it with fresh herbs.  This was an excellent plan, but I didn't take one thing into consideration.  The kabocha is the Fort Knox of vegetables.  I even had trouble hacking through it with my trusty Wusthoff.  So, after I finally got it in half, I scraped out the seeds, put it face down on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray and roasted the kabocha halves in the oven at 400 for 40 minutes.

I took the kabocha out of the oven to cool.  In the meantime, I minced a shallot, prepped the fresh thyme and shredded some kale.  When the kabocha was cool enough to handle, I began cutting chunks of it from the shells.  It had an almost crumbly texture - possibly, I let it cook for too long, but it had a nice flavor.

I then put the shallots to work in a gob of soy-free Earth Balance, and then added the kabocha chunks, thyme, salt and pepper, kale and fresh parsley.  I then added in some leftover freekeh from last night.  It looked a little dry, so I added a splash of wine to moisten things up. 

The result was a nice, filling cold-weather meal.  The kabocha was similar to butternut squash, but nuttier and creamier (the latter creaminess may have come from the large hunk of faux butter I cooked it in).  I put just the right amount of salt in to enhance the flavor of the whole shebang as well.

What the Freek is Freekeh?

Yes, I finally cooked something!  I had a yen for farro this week, but when I was in the grains section at whole foods this week, I stumbled upon freekeh and decided to give it a try.

"What is Freekeh?" you may ask.  It's roasted green wheat that can be served like rice or pasta.  According to Greenwheat Freekeh, the nutritional advantages of Freekeh include its high percentage of fiber, protein, calcium, potassium, iron and zinc, but low place on the glycemic index scale.  Thus, it's an excellent option for vegetarians and vegans.

Like farro, non-instant rice and other whole grains, there's some cooking time involved.  I brought the freekeh to a boil and let it simmer for 45 minutes.  While the freekeh was cooking, I reconstituted some sun-dried tomatoes in hot water.  Normally, I use fresh tomatoes, but I wanted the bite and texture of sun-dried for this dish.

I then minced shallots and sliced up some fresh brussels sprouts and, when the freekeh had about 15 minutes to go, sauteed them in soy-free earth balance.  I then added some garlic, freshly ground black pepper, the sliced sun-dried tomatoes, salt, some of the poaching liquid from the tomatoes, and a splash of white wine.  I finished the sauce off with red pepper flakes and italian seasoning, and then stirred in some vegetarian friendly parmesan cheese (no rennet was used, and the cows were not given rGBH - check your labels if you want to learn more!).  Vegans can easily omit the parmesan to make this a dairy-free meal.

I am happy with the result - the freekeh was chewy and nutty, and the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and red pepper flakes added a nice tang.  The sliced brussels sprouts were a cool contrast, and I liked the aged creaminess the parmesan added to the dish as well.  I have leftovers, so we'll see how it re-heats for lunch tomorrow.