Squash and Onion Curry

I’m always looking for new ways to use the abundance of winter squash we get in our CSA boxes this time of year. For many recipes, I use the different varieties of squash pretty much interchangeably. Butternut, buttercup, red kuri, kobacha, acorn, little delicata and sweet dumpling, and of course the familiar pumpkin (and there are probably others I’ve omitted.) They vary subtly in flavor and texture, but most of the time, each roasts, sautés and simmers much like the others. (Spaghetti squash is a strong exception, especially when it comes to texture.) And so I knew that I could use the small, smooth-skinned butternut squash in last week’s CSA box in the pumpkin curry recipe I’d been eyeing.



The original recipe was loaded with coconut in the form of coconut milk and coconut cream. While I had no doubt that the sweet coconut would complement the sweet squash very well, Harry won’t eat coconut unless it fits into the category of “safety coconut,” which usually includes spicy dishes with a little coconut milk. I had the feeling, however, that the coconut cream wasn’t going to make the cut.

I took the opportunity to replace all the coconut-ness with a yogurt sauce that I had worked on at least once before. In the past, I had thickened such a sauce with ground almonds, but since the original pumpkin curry recipe called for cashews, that’s the nut I ground for the sauce. I also stirred plenty of cashew pieces into the dish for a nice crunchy contrast to the creamy squash and yogurt sauce.

The spices were another important part of this dish, and I opted to make a sort of curry powder by toasting and grinding whole spices. A good commercial curry powder could be used, but I find it more economical to make a blend out of more versatile spices as needed. I know that jars of cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cardamom pods, or other spices will stay potent as long as I need them to, and I can use them individually in many applications. A ground curry powder might lose its flavor before I can make enough curries to use it all.

One of the spices I used in this dish was new to me, and that was fenugreek seed. After seeing it in plenty of Indian recipes and finding it quite inexpensively at a local store, I decided to put it in my spice blend. I have to say that its unique flavor just makes me think of Indian food, plain and simple. It seems to be the seasoning that makes curry powder taste like I’ve come to expect it to taste. If you can’t find it, however, the other spices can manage just fine without it.

The squash and onions soften and cook down into the consistency of a very thick stew. The way I made it with two dried chile peppers was very spicy, which we enjoyed. If you like things less spicy leave at least one of them out. Just don’t leave out the squash. Not only is it the star of the show (its name is the first words of the recipe title), but you have no excuses not to find some kind of winter squash to fill that starring role.

Winter Squash and Onion Curry with Yogurt Sauce
Inspired by a recipe in Bon Appetit magazine.

Two dried chile peppers makes this dish very spicy. Use just one to make it moderately spicy or omit them entirely for a mild dish.

2 (6-inch) cinnamon sticks
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
6 whole cardamom pods
1-2 dried red chile peppers, stems removed
½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
½ teaspoon brown mustard seeds
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 cup roasted, salted cashews (pieces or coarsely chopped), divided
½ cup plain yogurt (I used low-fat)
1 teaspoon honey
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger
3 cups (about 1 pound, weighed after peeling and chopping) chopped butternut squash, about 1-inch cubes
2 small red onions, cut into thin wedges
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup water
1 tablespoon lime juice
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems

1. Place the cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cardamom pods, chile peppers, fenugreek seeds, and brown mustard seeds in a medium skillet. Heat over medium-low to medium heat for just a few minutes, until the spices are very fragrant.

2. Remove the cinnamon sticks and bay leaves and set aside. Place the remaining toasted spices in a spice grinder (or a coffee grinder that will not be used for coffee) and grind to a fine powder. Remove the ground spices to a bowl with the cinnamon sticks, bay leaf and ground turmeric. Set aside.

3. In a food processor (I used a mini-processor) process ¼ cup cashews until finely ground. Place the yogurt in a small bowl. Add the ground cashews, honey and ground cinnamon and whisk together until well-combined. Set aside.

4. Heat the canola oil in a large skillet (one that has a lid) over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook about 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add the squash, onion and salt. Cook 5 minutes, or until just beginning to brown, stirring frequently.

5. Add the set-aside spice mixture and cook, stirring frequently, 1 minute more. Stir in the water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook 10 minutes, or until the squash and onions are tender. Lift the lid occasionally to stir.

6. Remove the lid and add the remaining ¾ cup cashews, cashew-yogurt mixture, lime juice and cilantro. Stir well and continue cooking until warmed through. Remove the cinnamon sticks and bay leaves. Remove from heat and serve with rice.

Makes about 4 servings.

Another recipe like this one: Pasta with Cauliflower and Cashew Sauce

Some other winter squash recipes: Quinoa Stuffed Squash, Roasted Winter Squash Puree, Pasta with Squash Puree and Blue Cheese Sauce, Grandmama’s Pumpkin Pie

One year ago: Tomato and Beef Stir Fry

Broccoli Casserole

Our CSA farm grows some fine brassicas. And now is the time when they’re coming in full force, with a recent huge head of bok choy, and big bunches of broccoli in each of the last two weeks’ boxes. I was glad for the second bunch so soon, because that gave me a chance to change a few things in this broccoli casserole recipe right away and try it again.

The recipe starts with a big pile of lovely, dark green, nutritious, vitamin rich, fiber-filled broccoli. If you happen to be a health nut, however, it kind of goes downhill from there. I slathered the broccoli in a mustardy cheddar cheese sauce and topped it with, instead of breadcrumbs, big rye bread croutons with a coating of more mustard and butter.

This all started from a couple different broccoli casserole recipes I had tried that were pretty good, but fell a little short, probably because they were attempts to lighten a pretty caloric dish and add some flavor elements that just weren’t filling the gaps. I went back to a good ol’ roux-based, mustard-laced cheese sauce for my broccoli, and I have no regrets. (I stay away from bathroom scales when I’m going to be writing about food.)

I’m not sure how I got the idea for the mustard croutons for the topping of the casserole, but I think it quickly followed the idea that I was too lazy to make decent breadcrumbs. I had some notes to myself to try a mustard breadcrumb topping, but I couldn’t find the recipe in time (not a rare occurrence) so I did what made sense to me: I mixed plain and coarse Dijon mustard with melted butter and coated chunks of caraway rye bread with the mixture. I used a homemade bread, which I liked because I could cut it as thickly as I wanted. You could use whatever bread you want, but get it unsliced or thickly sliced if you can, so you can make a big, crunchy rustic topping. I really like brassicas with caraway, mustard and rye (broccoli sandwich, anyone?) and I thought the balance of those flavors was quite nice in this casserole.

This dish does take a long time to make, but as it bakes, you can prepare some quick additions to your meal. Just because it’s more of a side dish doesn’t mean it can’t be the star of the show. I served it with a fried ham steak and a green salad suspiciously similar to this one. Just remember, no matter what you have done to the broccoli, it’s still broccoli. You’re still eating your veggies. If they just happen to be more comforting and taste better with cheese sauce and rye bread, there’s really nobody to blame.

Broccoli Cheese Casserole with Mustard Rye Croutons

Microwaved leftovers of this dish are kind of soggy, but still good. I warmed the leftovers in the microwave, then heated them in the oven at 350 F (or perhaps you could use the broiler) until the topping was crisp.

1 pound (about 500 g) broccoli crowns and tender stems
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided (1 ½ ounces or about 40 g)
1 heaping cup onion, thinly sliced (about 5 ounces or 125 g)
½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) coarse salt, divided
1 tablespoon (15 ml) all-purpose flour
1 cup (250 ml) milk (I used 2 %)
2 tablespoons (30 ml) coarse grain mustard, divided
¼ teaspoon (1.5 ml) black pepper
1/8 teaspoon (0.75 ml) freshly grated nutmeg
4 ounces (about 125 g) shredded cheddar cheese (about 2 cups)
5 ounces (about 150 g) rye bread, cut into 1- 1 ½ inch cubes
1 tablespoon (15 ml) regular Dijon mustard

1. Cut the broccoli crowns and stems into bite-size pieces. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a small handful of salt. Add the broccoli and cook 3 minutes. Drain very well, getting out as much water as possible and set aside.

2. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and ¼ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally about 5 minutes or until the onion has softened and is beginning to brown. Remove the onion from the pan and set aside.

3. Return the pan to the heat and reduce the heat to medium-low. Add 1 tablespoon butter. When the butter has melted, slowly whisk in the flour. Cook and whisk about 1 minute. Make sure there are no flour lumps.

4. Slowly whisk in the milk. Cook, stirring frequently until the mixture begins to boil. Cook at a gentle boil about 1 minute, or until the mixture starts to thicken, stirring constantly. Stir in 1 tablespoon coarse mustard, remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, black pepper and nutmeg. Remove from the heat. Add the cheese and stir until melted. Set aside.

5. Preheat the oven to 400 F (200 C). Put the broccoli in a shallow 2 quart (2 liter) baking dish. Spread the onions evenly over the top of the broccoli. Pour the cheese sauce evenly over the broccoli and onions, spreading and gently mixing to get it evenly distributed.

6. Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon (15 ml) butter in a small saucepan. Whisk in the regular Dijon mustard and the remaining 1 tablespoon (15 ml) coarse mustard. Place the bread cubes in a large bowl. Pour the butter mixture over them and toss gently to coat.

7. Distribute the bread cubes on top of the broccoli mixture. Bake at 400 F (200 C) for 40 minutes. If the bread is getting too dark in color at any point, loosely tent it with foil. Cool 5-10 minutes before serving.

Makes about 4-6 servings.

Other recipes like this one: Broccoli and Chickpea Salad with Mustard-Pepper Dressing, Summer Squash Casserole with Basil and Onion

One year ago: Caramel Dip for Apples

Spice Cream

I made apple crisp recently, and while it was delicious, I posted a recipe for such a thing last year and didn’t think it would be necessary to do so again. In fact, the one I made was pretty much the same as this one, but without the cranberries and with less sugar (to make up for the fact that just plain apples are nowhere near as sour as cranberries.) I could, however, write about the delicious ice cream I made to go with the apple crisp. I think I’ll do that.

Plain ol’ vanilla ice cream is great with warm apple crisp, or any fruit crisp for that matter, but I thought I’d try to come up with something even more complimentary to that cozy cinnamon-apple comfort food. I would, quite literally, spice it up.

I steeped an entire array of my favorite warm and comforting spices, most of them in their whole form, in the milk and cream mixture for my ice cream. I really think the whole spices are necessary in this, since they have a fresher flavor, but also they can be removed after giving up some of their essence. Ground spices may work, but they might make the custard gritty or even a little bitter, since they would be almost impossible to filter out. Two exceptions are the ground ginger (although perhaps you could steep crystallized ginger instead, I didn’t think of that) and the nutmeg, which I ground off the “nut” with a Microplane grater as I added it with the other spices.

Another exception may be the vanilla bean I used. Since I was steeping anyway, I thought I might as well take advantage of its rich floral qualities and throw one in. (Actually, since the one I used was kind old and dry, I ended up crumbling it in.) You could probably use vanilla extract, which is more economical and convenient. Just add it after the custard is cooked instead of with the spices or the flavor is likely to float away as you heat it.

I was really, really pleased with the way this ice cream turned out. I was confident about the custard base itself, since I used the same recipe and method I usually do, but the spice additions were a bit of an experiment. It turned out pleasantly infused with all of the flavors: a little bit chai spice, a little bit pumpkin spice, and not so much of anything that it overwhelmed my apple crisp. Instead, it complimented it as I had hoped, a cold contrast with the warm dessert that melted and dribbled along the edges of the bowl and puddled in the nooks and crannies between the sweet-tart baked apples and crunchy walnut-oat topping. I also think it would go well with other fall desserts or more plain cakes and cookies, but my attention is lingering too much on the apple crisp, and I can’t think very far beyond that right now.

Ginger Spice Ice Cream
Based on recipes in Ben and Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream and Dessert Book

This is very good with apple crisp.

2 cups (500 ml) heavy whipping cream
1 cup (250 ml) whole milk
6 –inch (about 15 cm) cinnamon stick
5 cardamom pods, crushed
4 whole cloves
¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml) ground ginger
¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml) freshly ground nutmeg
1 whole star anise
½ vanilla bean (or ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) vanilla extract)
2 large eggs
½ cup (3 ½ ounces or about 100 g) white granulated sugar
¼ cup (1 7/8 ounces or about 53 g) packed brown sugar

1. Pour the cream and milk into a medium saucepan. Add the cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, cloves, ginger, nutmeg and star anise. If using the vanilla bean, slit it in half lengthwise. Scrape out the seeds and add them to the cream mixture. Add the scraped bean as well.

2. Heat the cream mixture over medium heat until just beginning to boil. Stir occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent scorching. Remove from the heat, cover and let stand 30 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk in the white sugar and beat until the mixture is pale and thick. Add the brown sugar and whisk until well combined, being sure to break up any lumps of brown sugar.

4. Strain the cream mixture into the egg mixture. Discard the solids. (You can save the vanilla pod to rinse and dry for making vanilla sugar.) Whisk together to combine well.

5. Pour the mixture into a clean saucepan. Heat over low to medium-low heat, stirring often, until the mixture reaches 160 F (about 72 C). (Use an instant-read or candy thermometer to determine this.) Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in the vanilla extract, if using. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate several hours or until completely chilled. (I often set it in the freezer to speed the process and get the mixture even colder than the refrigerator can.)

6. Pour the cooled mixture into the freezing canister of an ice cream maker. Freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze until of desired firmness.

Makes 1 generous quart (1 liter).

Another ice cream recipe: Rich Choclate Ice Cream

One year ago: Cabbage Slaw with Spicy Peanut Dressing

What about my Kneads?

When the weather starts getting cool enough to turn on the oven without causing myself bodily trauma, Harry starts to fear (or hope?) that he’ll come home to huge piles of breads and other baked goods. While it’s true that I get up a lot more energy for heat-intensive and complicated kitchen wonders as the days get colder and shorter, I haven’t gone too crazy with the baking just yet. I’ve still got the whole autumn and winter ahead of me after all.

Even when it’s hot I make the occasional loaf of bread, so now I’m making a loaf or two a week. I’m also still trying to burn some of those bread calories by kneading my loaves by hand (except when I make pizza crust or the no-knead breads I talked about here.) My dad always said that if you cut your own firewood, it warms you twice: once while you’re cutting it and once while you’re burning it. If that’s the case, then bread might give a triple dose of heat: one when you knead it, one when you bake it, and one in the form of carbohydrate calories that give your body fuel. (But if you use that fuel to knead more bread, I guess that’s back down to twice heated.)

Not only am I kneading recipes by hand, wrist and arm, but I’ve also been taking back the timing, judgment, and stirring by converting my books full of bread machine recipes into conventionally baked recipes. It’s not that I have anything against bread machines (except perhaps the shape of most bread machine loaves.) It’s just that I wore mine out long before I got to try all the recipes I wanted to, and I never got a new one.

Recently I made one of those bread machine recipes from The Bread Lovers Bread Machine Cookbook by Beth Hensperger. It’s a soft white loaf made with buttermilk, nuts and nut oil. In the book, it’s called “California Nut Bread,” and was designed to be made with any nut and corresponding nut oil you like. Since I often have nuts and nut oil on hand, not to mention several types of flour, I usually make this when I have extra buttermilk languishing in the refrigerator (how do you know when that stuff goes bad, anyway?).

I’ve fiddled with this recipe a bit over the years (taking decent notes for once), and I’ve enjoyed it most with walnuts and walnut oil. I’ve also, perhaps out of guilt, added just a bit of whole wheat flour, which bumps up the WFQ* without changing the texture much. Speaking of texture, the buttermilk in this bread makes it soft and chewy, while the crunchy nuts form a nice contrast. The flavor of those nuts is enhanced by the walnut oil, so that it permeates the whole loaf. The toasty nuttiness compliments the tanginess from the buttermilk.

I like slices of this loaf plain or slathered with butter or just about anything sweet or semisweet. It also makes great French toast, which is good because then I have motivation to save some of the loaf for another day rather than just eating it all. I hope you like it too, and will add it to your own list of kneads.

*WFQ: Whole Food Quotient


Walnut Buttermilk Bread
Based on a recipe in The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook by Beth Hensperger

Since buttermilk tends to curdle when heated, I prefer to proof the yeast in warm water and allow the buttermilk to come to room temperature before using it in this dough.

Here, as with most yeast breads, I use a “mini-starter” method, where the yeast and some liquid is mixed with some of the flour and allowed to stand and develop for a while before the kneading process. I find that this method helps produce consistently good loaves.

¼ cup warm water (about 100 F)
2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (1 envelope)
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
¼ cup walnut oil
½ cup whole wheat flour
2 ½ cups bread flour, divided
1 teaspoon fine salt
3 ounces coarsely chopped walnuts (about ¾ cup)
Nonstick spray or oil for the dough and the pan

1. Combine the warm water, yeast and brown sugar in a large bowl. Let stand 5 minutes or until the mixture is foamy.

2. Add the buttermilk, walnut oil, whole wheat flour and ½ cup bread flour. Mix well. Cover with a towel and let stand at least 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes.

3. Stir in the salt and ½ cup more bread flour. Turn the wet dough out onto a kneading surface (you can also knead the dough in a heavy-duty mixer with a dough hook.) Knead until very smooth and elastic, adding as much of the remaining bread flour as you can, or more if necessary. You want a dough that just avoids sticking to the counter (or the mixer bowl) while you knead. This will take about 10 minutes.

4. Flatten out the dough and spread the walnuts over it. Roll up the dough and knead about 1 minute more, or until the walnuts are evenly distributed.

5. Form the dough into a ball and place in a large bowl. Spray the top of the dough with nonstick cooking spray. Place a sheet of plastic wrap on top of the dough. Cover with a towel and let stand 1 hour or until roughly double in size.

6. Gently deflate the dough and form into a new ball. Let stand about 5 minute. Shape into a loaf. Spray an 8-inch x 4-inch bread pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place the shaped loaf in the pan, cover with a towel and let stand about 1 hour, or until completely risen and puffy.

7. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 F. Bake the risen loaf at 375 F for 30-35 minutes or until it tests done. (The most accurate way to test is to measure the internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer. The bread should be about 200 F in the middle.)

8. Remove from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

Other recipes like this one: Stout Chocolate Cherry Bread, Chocolate Orange Bread

One year ago: Beet and Carrot Burgers