Baked Kuri Kabocha Squash and Apple Maple Pudding (and it's vegan too)

(The 10 year anniversary of JustHungry is at the end of this month. To commemorate this event I’m highlighting some of my favorite posts from the archives. This very healthy squash pudding or crustless pie would make a very good side dish for Thanksgiving dinner. It’s vegan, so anyone can enjoy it without worry! It is not that sweet - probably less sweet than many traditional side dishes. I hope you give it a try! Originally on published November 19, 2007, and tweaked a bit since. If you want this to be gluten-free, choose an appropriate type of miso. The miso adds a small but critical bit of umami and richness.)

You know how certain diehard carnivores react to words like ‘vegan’ ‘no dairy’ and, gasp, ‘tofu in a sweet dish’. There’s no reason to tell them that all of these phrases are applicable to this smooth, creamy baked squash pudding, until they’ve actually eaten and enjoyed. It even is devoid of white sugar, though it is sweetened with maple syrup. The simple combination of creamy squash pudding, flavored and sweetened with real maple syrup with the pure sweetness of the squash shining through, and sweet-sourness of the apples works perfectly together. (The tofu merely adds the creamy texture; you don’t taste it at all.) It’s rich, but rests very lightly on your stomach - not a bad thing after a heavy main course.

This recipe is adapted quite heavily from one in a Japanese cookbook, Saisai Sweets (Vegetable Sweets), by the wonderful Yumiko Kano, who I have mentioned previously. The original recipe called for soy milk, but I’ve used silken tofu instead for a richer, thicker consistency. I’ve omitted other things like rum-soaked raisins, and upped the maple syrup for more sweetness.

This will make a pudding or a crustless pie that is about 10 inches / 28cm or so in diameter, enough for 6 to 8 servings (though I’ve seen one disappear in one person recently).

I’ve given weight measurements rather than cup measurements, because the proportion of squash to tofu is what’s the most important thing here. Scale up or down according to your needs.

1 lb (450-500g) of cooked red kuri or Hokkaido squash, skin on, or roasted butternut squash or other sweet, dense kabocha or winter squash, flesh only (see below for how to cook the squash)1 block (300g / about 11 oz) silken tofu, well drained1/4 tsp. cinnamonA few gratings of nutmeg (about 1/4 tsp.) 2 Tbs. neutral tasting vegetable oil, such as sunflower 1/2 tsp. sea salt1 Tbs. mild, smooth white miso 8 Tbs. real maple syrup (not ‘pancake syrup’ or ‘imitation maple syrup’), plus extra for drizzling on top2 medium sweet eating apples 1 Tbs. lemon juice

Equipment needed: food processor, a pie or quiche or tart dish

If you are doing this for Thanksgiving, cook the squash ahead of time - up to 2-3 days in advance.

To cook the red kuri squash, either: cut in half and scoop out the seeds and fluffy bits in the middle. Poke several holes in the skin side with the point of your knife. Lay cut side down in a baking dish filled with about 1/2 inch / 1 cm of water. Bake at 350° F / 180° C until soft - a skewer poked through the skin side should go through easily. Drain away any left over water.

Alternate method in a pan: de-seed, de-fluffy bit and cut up the squash into about 1 inch / 2cm chunks. Put in a very heavy pan (such as a cast iron enamel one) with enough water to come up to about 1/2 of the squash chunks. Simmer, lid on, until the chunks are tender; drain away any excess water.

If you are using butternut squash, which has a much harder skin than red kuri squash, bake in the oven cut in half as above until tender.

Cool the squash after cooking to about room temperature. Store, tightly covered, in the refrigerator.

To make the pudding:

Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C (if it’s not already on of course.)

Put the cooked squash (skin and all if you are using red kuri squash - see notes), tofu, oil, salt, miso and maple syrup into the bowl of a food processor with the steel chopping blade. Process until totally smooth - you may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times. Taste at this point, and see if you want to add more maple syrup (but remember you will be drizzling more syrup on top later).

In the meantime, peel and core two medium eating apples. (I used Cox’s Orange. You want a sweet, eating apple, not a hard, sour cooking apple here. Golden Delicious is a universally available type that will work fine here.) Slice into thin wedges, and toss into some acidulated water (water with a little lemon juice in it) to stop the slices from turning brown. Drain well and pat dry with a clean kitchen towel.

Fill the tart or pie dish with the pumpkin cream. Arrange the apples in a nice pattern on the cream, pushing down each slice a bit (they will sink a little, but this is a very dense cream.) Drizzle the top with more maple syrup. Alternatively, sprinkle with maple sugar if you have it.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until the top is lightly browned.

This pudding, or crustless pie, is great warm, at room temperature or chilled.

If you don’t have real maple syrup, try a flavorful clear runny honey instead. If you can’t get a hold of kuri squash, you can substitute another squash, preferably a kabocha type, that is denser and sweeter than most other types. Try butternut squash, rouge d’Etampes or Muscat (Musque de Provence). Do not use regular pumpkin - it is far too watery and fibrous. The orange skin of the kuri squash cooks up quite soft, and the orange adds to the vibrant color of the pudding. If using other, more tough-skinned squash varieties, or you have a green-skinned variety and want to keep the pudding orange-colored just scoop out the flesh and discard the skin. If you don’t care about keeping it all vegan, use butter instead of the oil. Dot the top with more butter, for a really rich flavor.Try ripe pears instead of apples.

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Baked Sriracha Spaghetti Squash with Turkey & Kid/Puppy Training

My conversation with Mom last week ended up with her asking, again, when Todd and I were going to have kids. Like every Mom I know, there’s joys at being a Grandmother that can never be explained. I understand this happiness and it’s never a bad thing to yearn to hold a Grand-baby of your very own. But the topic of her birthday and Christmas came up and I had to kindly remind her that there’s no way for Santa to deliver in time. And of course, we’re always practicing.

As we were talking about kids, I was thinking about puppy Lexi and the joys of being puppy-parents. If kids are in our near future, we’re certainly ready for it thanks to the training our dogs have put us through.

Guilty puppy thief. Oh, my poor flip flop.

Chewed sandals, bitten socks and anything that resembles a dog-toy has had it’s fair share of puppy slobber on it. Sierra has been extra patient with puppy Lexi tackling and biting her ankles. And lips. And ears. Poor Sierra can’t get an afternoon of rest because this monster puppy is relentless at getting someone to play with her. Now that Lexi is becoming the tall Ridgeback her genes have determined for her to be, we’re having to clear anything from the edges of the tables. She’s just starting to discover her size and strength.

The owners manual that came with Lexi never said anything about 8 hours of playtime and missing shoes. And her middle name is now “no”. It’s Lexi no, Lexi No, Lexi NO!

Oy, the joys of puppyhood. But here’s the bright side of it all: when we do have kids of our own, we’ll be well prepared for kid training thanks to our dogs dysfunctional behavior.

We’ll teach our kids to “sit” very well. If they mis-behave in public, we’ll draw onto our Cesar Milan spirit of “pssshht!” and on command, make then sit.

When they turn to their terrible two’s, we’ll have plenty of training harnesses to tie them to and keep them from running like wild horses in public. We’ve seen all your crazy, hyper kids terrorize stores in public. We would never let that happen. That what lead collars and body harnesses are for, right?

Isn’t that the strategy to all this kid raising? If so, then we’re way ahead of you all. Well, I think we are. With raising three dogs now under our belt, training little kids should be a cinch. That’s until they ask for an iphone, a laptop and a new car. Or get a girlfriend/boyfriend.

Oy again, there really should be a reliable training manual for newbies.

In the meantime, enjoy this quick and healthy dinner of spaghetti squash and turkey. My love of spicy foods is evident and when I have a chance, I’m always reaching for my homemade sriracha hot sauce. This is a great meal to warm up the house, to satisfy bellies and keep it exciting with a kick of spice.

If you’re not keen on spicy food, then you can easily omit the hot sauce. The combination of spaghetti squash is wonderful as-is and best of all, it’s quite healthy.

During these cooler days, it’s nice to warm up the house with oven cooking without having to eat anything heavy or starchy. This baked spaghetti squash recipe is perfect and satisfying.

have a great week,

diane

Yield: Serves 4-6

Total Time: 1 hour

1 medium spaghetti squash1 pound ground turkey1 medium onion, minced2 cloves garlic, minced2 Tablespoons olive oil3 Teaspoons Fish Sauce3 Tablespoons Sriracha or hot sauce , add extra to tastePreheat Oven to 375°F. Oil a sheet pan with first 1 T of olive oil. Slice spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. (Use the tip of the knife to first pierce and get the cut started. Once you get the first cut started the rest of the squash should slice easily.) Scoop out the seeds and strands, then place cut side down on the prepared sheet pan.Bake for 45 minutes, or until the squash flesh separates easily into strands with a fork. Finish loosening and removing the "spaghetti" from the shells and set aside.In large pan, heat oil. Add onions and garlic, cook till translucent.Add ground turkey, cook for about 5 minutes or until brown. Add fish sauce and sriracha/hot sauce. Combine evenly.Continue cooking turkey till it's fully cooked, then add spaghetti squash.Gently combine turkey and spaghetti squash till evenly heated. Add additional fish sauce, salt or sriracha hot sauce to taste. Serve warm.

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Dairy Free Butternut Squash and Pear Soup

I know, many of you probably have a butternut squash soup recipe in your trusted cooking index. Your recipe is possibly the only one you’ll ever need because it’s simple, comforting and amazing. Am I right? We also have a stand-by recipe that we’ve stood by for years. It’s hearty and flavorful to the very last lick, so why add another recipe to the mix? I felt that way too, until I had a bowl of this new recipe.

This butternut squash soup is perfectly dairy free for our lactose intolerant friends (oh boy) and ripe pear adds a fantastic sweetness to the soup. Ever since we photographed this recipe for our La Brea Bakery shoot, I’ve been hooked. And not only because it’s perfectly satisfying for this cooler season, but also because it’s healthy. When this cold weather kicks in, my metabolism starts to slow down but my cravings for hearty soups escalate. First instinct is to eat scoop-fulls of rich, cream based soups. It’s not a bad thing. I do love to indulge in that way, but to have a healthier option is spiritually uplifting, not to mention lighter on the belly.

In every butternut squash soup I’ve ever had, there was some element of milk, cream or dairy. But this one didn’t and though I was a bit skeptical about it’s flavor potential, I was in for a pleasant surprise at how yummy it was. And I didn’t miss the dairy, which my belly thanked me for.

An added bonus to this recipe is that you can intensify the flavor by using different spices and herbs. If a fresh herb is within reach, we’ll add it to our cooking. So don’t be shy about throwing in a bunch of fresh thyme, oregano or sprinkles of fresh chives. Consider mixing up the dried spices with other seasonal favorites.

In garden news….yes, we do have news. One of the benefits to living in congested, smog breathing Southern California is our incredible growing season. Right when we’re about ready to pull out the decaying Summer vegetable plots and change over to cool weather crops, we find a batch of vine ripened tomatoes.

Do you believe it? Tomatoes in November in coastal Southern California? It’s always a sweet surprise to find a handful of sweet cherry tomatoes to brag about. Granted, the skin is a little tougher on these tomatoes, but their flavor is still bursting with flavor. Enjoying a longer growing season is one of those compromises to life in freeway traffic and smog!

hugs,

diane

Adapted and shared with permission from La Brea Bakery

This wonderful soup can be made as thick as you'd like. When dipping into warm crusty bread, we enjoy keeping it a little thicker by adding a little less stock. Or refrigerating the soup till the next day will result in a thick soup.

1/2 cup olive oil6 cloves garlic, peeled & minced2 medium onions, minced6 cups of butternut squash, peeled & diced into 1/2" pieces (about 2 medium squash, 3 pounds total)5 cups of chicken or vegetable stock2 ripe pears, peeled, cored & diced1.5 teaspoons of ground coriander1/2 teaspoon of ground allspicefew fresh thyme or oregano sprigs (optional)1 teaspoon sea salt1/4 teaspoons fresh ground black pepperfresh chives for garnishHeat large heavy bottom pot to medium heat. Add olive oil, then add onion and minced garlic. Cook for about 3 minutes or until onions and garlic become translucent and fragrant.Add pear, coriander, allspice, fresh herbs (optional), salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionallyAdd the squash and cook for about 15 minutes or until squash becomes golden in color. Stir occasionally.Add stock and stir to combine all ingredients well. Bring to a boil then immediately reduce heat to low. Continue to cook for about 15-20 minutes or until the squash is tender.Allow soup to completely cool. Add soup to blender and blend the soup until it becomes smooth. If you added any woody thyme or oregano sprigs that are still tough, remove these stems before blending the soup.Add additional salt and pepper to taste.Pour back into pot and re-heat before serving. Serve the soup warm, top with fresh chives or herbs and eat with your favorite crusty bread.

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Roasted Delicata Squash and Travel Induced Re-Awakening

Re-Awakened. That’s how I would describe the aftermath of traveling.

Even as aware as we try to be at home, it is easy to fall into our routines. We tend to focus on the familiar and filter out the rest. There is comfort and warmth in the familiar. However sometimes something exceptional is right under our noses and we never notice.

Yet when we travel, our senses are alive. Everything seems fresh and new. We seek out the different and exceptional. The heart and eyes are open at nearly every moment, ready for discovery. And after we get home from our travels, for a time, this sense of openly seeking stays with us, like the perfume of a beautiful woman just after she has left the room.

For us, in the culinary realm, this re-awakening has led us to discover Delicata Squash. I’m sure we’ve passed over them hundreds of times, never paying any attention to this cute little gourd.

But let’s face it, squash isn’t something most of us go nuts over. We may really enjoy a butternut squash soup or maybe a spaghetti squash dish, but squash usually doesn’t get the same reaction as summertime fruit.

“Oh my God! That peach was amazing!” Yeah, we’ve all said it. But how often will, “Can you believe this buttercup squash?!” escape our lips with the same eye rolling enthusiasm.

But life shouldn’t be all moaning and groaning. Sometimes a heartfelt, “Mmmmm…” is a nice change of pace. Plus, it helps give the moans a little more meaning. A bit of perspective.

Delicata squash is one of those, “Mmmmms”. After roasting, the flesh is tender and sweet. They have a wonderfully thin skin which needs no peeling or removing. The thin skin makes preparation easier than most winter squash, and after roasting it can be eaten with the flesh, providing another texture to contrast against the center.

You can use Delicata squash as a substitute for just about any other squash in your recipes, but to discover and appreciate it’s flavor and textures, we like a simple preparation. Slice and roast with a touch of rosemary, good olive oil, sea salt, and fresh cracked pepper.

It’s funny how one of the greatest rewards of traveling is gifted when you get back home.

-Todd

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Roasted Delicata Squash w/ Rosemary
Delicata squash has a wonderfully tender skin which can been eaten after roasting. Serves 4. 2 Delicata Squash (@ 1lb each), sliced in 1/2? slices1 T finely chopped fresh Rosemary1 T Olive Oil1 t Sea Salt1/2 t fresh cracked Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 400°F Roast

Toss all ingredients on a sheet pan. Level the squash to be in a single layer. Roast in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until soft and slightly golden. Serve warm.

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Movies at Dinner: Spaghetti Squash with Sausage

Films and Food. Oh, when they are good, they are sooooo good.  Usually it is separately, however there are instances when together they’ve grown into bosom buddies in our mysterious minds.

“Goddamn, that’s a pretty fu**ing good milkshake.”
“Told ya.”
“I don’t know if it’s worth five dollars, but it’s pretty fu**ing good”

I can’t order a milkshake, especially not a $5 shake without thinking of Pulp Fiction. Hell, I can’t even order a high-$$$ everyday eatable without thinking of Pulp Fiction. The $10 burger? $16 pho? They all get the Vincent Vega skepticism.

This film and food connection extends way past burgers, shakes, and the cult dialog of Pulp Fiction. Sometimes it is the music getting swallowed up into noir. Mambo Italiano and Big Night, anyone? Or take Paolo Conte’s “Via con me” and the kitchen scenes of Mostly Martha (Though, don’t get me started on the “American” remake.  Not happy.)

Other times it will be a certain dish or ingredient which sparks the TCM flashback. Spice and chocolate - Chocolat. Any mention of bear meat - A Chef in Love. (Weird, I know but if you’ve seen the movie you’ll know what I’m talking about.) Nearly all of our Top 10 Food Films will inspire some sort of culinary trigger.

Sometimes they will even inspire or influence our cooking or techniques. I first tackled the challenge of Puff Pastry due to Babette’s Feast. And an obscure scene from Dinner Rush forever changed how I cook sausage.

One of the boys in the kitchen whips up a quick meal of sausage and pasta for the boss (Danny Aiello). To cook the sausage, he took an uncooked sausage, pulled pinches of sausage out of the casing, dropped the perfect little balls into the pan and quickly sauteed them up.

So simple. So brilliant. Something I had never seen or read about. We didn’t grow up in an Italian cooking household so my ways going about Italian cooking stemmed from books. And now, the movies have become my teacher too.

In a salute to the great food movies, here’s a simple little dish using this movie inspired cooking technique… Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Sausage.

We love spaghetti squash. It is a perfect winter squash, giving up a great texture when cooked right. Try not to cook it until it gets mushy.  It should still have a little bite like… spaghetti. Mangia!

-Todd

P.S. Would love to hear your food and film connections!  Whether it is just your favorite food movies or scenes (am dying to see Tampopo – curse you Netflix for not having it!), foods you associate with a movie, or anything else related. Hit us with your Fave Fives.

roast in oven until squash separate easily

sautee shallots and garlic till lightly golden

cook pinched sausage till golden brown

add squash, cook till heated, toss with parmesan cheese & herbs. Enjoy!

Dive in. Soooo good.

 Print This Recipe
Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Sausage Recipe
There are lots of recipes quickly microwaving spaghetti squash to cook it, but I just like the taste and texture of roasting the squash better. It brings out the aromas and fills the kitchen. If pressed for time to make dinner, since the squash is warmed in the pan with the sausage at the end, one could always roast the spaghetti squash ahead of time and then quickly heat it with the sausage at dinner time. Try not to over cook the squash until it becomes overly soft.  It should still have a bit of a bite to the texture. Serves 3-4. 1 Spaghetti Squash (@3lbs or 1365g)2 T (30ml) Olive Oil (divided in two parts)5 or 6 medium Shallots, thickly sliced3 cloves Garlic, crushed or finely minced3/4 lb (340g) uncooked Sausage (any kind you prefer)1 c (60g) coarsely grated Parmigiana Reggiano1 T finely chopped Oregano, or other complimentary herb to the sausageSea Salt and fresh Cracked Pepper to taste

Preheat Oven to 375°F. Oil a sheet pan with first 1 T of olive oil.

1. Slice spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. (Use the tip of the knife to first pierce and get the cut started. Once you get the first cut started the rest of the squash should slice easily.) Scoop out the seeds and strands, then place cut side down on the prepared sheet pan.

2. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the squash flesh separates easily into strands with a fork. Finish loosening and removing the “spaghetti” from the shells and set aside.

3. Onto a large sheet of butcher paper or similar, pinch and pull small balls of sausage out of the casing, laying them so they stay slightly separate. Continue for all of the sausage.

4. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Heat second 1 T of olive oil in pan, then add shallots and garlic. Cook until soft, stirring every 30 seconds, then add sausage. Cook untouched until bottom side of sausage starts to brown, then stir. Continue cooking and stirring occasionally until the sausage is cooked through (@2-3 minutes depending on heat and size of sausage).

5. Add spaghetti squash strands to the sausage and continue cooking until heated (usually less than a minute.)

6. Remove from heat. Toss in Parmigiana Reggiano and oregano.  Season with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper (remember the cheese will have a bit of “saltiness” to it already.) Serve immediately.

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Roasted Acorn Squash w/Sage, Pine Nuts & of course, Butter

Baked acorn squash was never a dish that I obsessed over. Because of my love of butternut squash, acorn squash always seemed to hide in in the shadows of my other squash love affairs. It wasn’t until I started food blogging that I really understood the appeal of these cute acorn shaped globes.

After 2 holidays of food blogging, I read a mountain of blog posts about roasted or baked acorn squash and every single post was dripping with amazing butter, sugar and more butter and sugar. I was visually hooked and put this dish on my mental notes of “must.try.soon”. Now I wish I had tried it sooner because now I’m asking: Dear Acorn Squash. Where have you been all my life?!

I won’t make such a broad generalization that this recipe is so EASY.FAST.and SIMPLE (although that’s the truth) because there is one step that can be intimidating. If you’re a home cook who doesn’t own a good sharp knife, beware.

Sliced squash and fresh sage

The only difficult part about preparing acorn squash (or most hard winter squashes for that matter) is that it’s  as hard as rock when it’s raw. One can probably use it as a lethal weapon and if thrown with enough force, the acorn squash can probably take our your enemy pretty quickly. Personally, I’ve never toyed with this thought, although hard squashes do make great paper weights.

Butter, sage, sugar. Oh yeah.

If you can get past the initial cuts with a good sharp knife with safety and all your 10 digits still attached to your hand, this acorn squash recipe is as easy as pie and will be a sure winner to any holiday meal.

The oven roasting aromas of browning butter, sage and toasted pine nuts had me humming Christmas songs in the kitchen. Yes, this silly little dish put me in a good mood. Go figure. Before I knew it, the squash was finished and I was eating the warm, flavorful slices like candy.

I’m obsessive about acorn squash now and it took me this long to finally discover their flavor and cooking appeal. I’ve found a new squash love and Dear Butternut Squash, please don’t be jealous.

Happy Holidays! xoxo

Diane

More Acorn Squash Recipes from bloggers that got me hooked:

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Roasted Acorn Squash with Sage & Pine Nuts Recipe
Serves about 4 people.

2 T unsalted Butter
2 T Brown Sugar
@ 20 2? Sage Leaves2 medium acorn squash (@1.5 lbs), sliced into 1/2? thick wedges
2 T toasted Pine Nuts
Sea Salt and fresh cracked Black Pepper to taste

preheat oven to roast at 375°F

1. Melt butter a med. saucepan over med. heat. Continue cooking until the butter stops sizzling, then add brown sugar and sage leaves. Stir until everything is mixed well, then remove from heat.

2. Toss acorn squash and pine nuts with sage leaves and brown sugar to coat completely, then spread out into an even layer onto a sheet pan. Season to taste with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper.

3. Roast for 15-20 minutes or until tender. Serve warm.

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