beans, winter squash and corn / fagioli, zucca e mais dolce

November 30, 2025January 25, 2026 | Simona

beans, winter squash and corn in a serving bowl — three sisters and friends
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

Our current Cook the Books Club selection is the novel Maame by Jessica George.¹ Following the protagonist, Maddie, a 25-year old woman of Ghanaian origins living in London, the novel tackles topics including family ties and responsibilities (a father with advanced Parkinson’s disease, a manipulative mother and a shallow brother make up Maddie’s family), friendships and relationships, racism, a young person trying to find their place in the work environment and in life. As readers, we cheer Maddie on her journey to a more assertive and realized self. I found the beat-to-beat narrative a bit tiresome and the continuous asking Google life questions quickly lost freshness. I guess the slow pace is a metaphor for Maddie feeling stuck in a situation that leaves her unfulfilled.

Maddie’s family roots in Ghana made me think first about foods from Italy, where I come from, but then winter squash and pumpkin being widely available this time of the year, I started thinking about foods from where I live now and was inspired by the Native American tradition of companion planting corn, beans and squash in a mutually supporting situation. A page on the USDA website² strives to offer a view of this intercropping method with focus on the people who practiced it, and describes it as “not simply an agricultural strategy ” but “a cultural complex”:

Some Indigenous Peoples of the Americas planted corn, beans and squash or pumpkins together in mounds, in an intercropping complex known to some as the Three Sisters. Corn provided support for beans, beans provided nitrogen through nitrogen-fixing rhizobia bacteria that live on the roots, and squash and pumpkins provided ground cover to suppress weeds and inhibit evaporation from the soil. While the origins of the Three Sisters complex are unknown, veneration of the Three Sisters appears in the earliest accounts of European explorers and missionaries in North America. As described by Lewandowski, from its earliest appearance in written records, the Three Sisters complex was not simply an agricultural strategy or technology, but a cultural complex, complete with stories, ceremonies, technology, customs and etiquette.

The recipe below is my way of honoring what from my perspective is a great combination of flavors and textures. The ingredients (ingredienti) I used in the various renditions of the recipe are grown locally at the following farms:

Vermont cranberry beans: Rain Frog Farm
honeynut squash: Wild Rose Farm
Autumn frost squash: Happy Hearts Farm
poblano peppers: Shakefork Community Farm
sweet corn: The Corn Crib, Shakefork Community Farm
escarole (scarola): Shakefork Community Farm
red onion: Shakefork Community Farm
garlic: Happy Hearts Farm, Pomme Hill Farm
fresh thyme (timo): Woven Hearts Herb Farm
smoked spicy paprika and ground dried chihuacle negro: Luna Farm

This recipe has two ingredients in common with the previous one: roasted poblano peppers and roasted corn.³ I can still get fresh poblano peppers at the farmers’ market and have been roasting them to use in various dishes and also to freeze. Sweet corn season, on the other hand, is sadly over so what I use in this recipe was roasted during the summer and frozen, so it comes from my freezer.

Simona Carini (briciole)

Beans, Corn and Winter Squash

Print Recipe

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Approximate time to cook the beans 1

Servings: 3

Course: Main Course

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

For the beans:

1/2 cup / 100 g / 3 1/2 ounces Vermont cranberry beans or similar variety
2 cups / 480 ml water
1/2 bay leaf
1 garlic clove sliced
1/2 small onion halved
2 parsley stems
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

For the dish (besides the batch of beans)

8 ounces / 225 grams honeynut, autumn frost or butternut squash clean weight
2 tablespoons / 30 ml extra-virgin olive oil
4 ounces / 112 grams red onion finely diced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon smoked spicy paprika or hot paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground dried chihuacle negro or smoked paprika
3 garlic cloves minced
1/4 cup / 60 ml tomato passata (I use my roasted strained tomatoes)³
3 1/2 ounces / 100 grams escarole leaves
2 ounces / 56 grams roasted poblano pepper
4 ounces / 112 grams roasted corn thawed, if frozen
1/2 teaspoon sea salt or to taste

Equipment

1 10-inch / 25-cm deep sauté pan or large skillet

Method

Cook the dry beans

Rinse the beans then place them in a small saucepan with the water, the aromatic vegetables and the sea salt. Cover, bring the water to a lively boil and keep it there for 4-5 minutes.
Turn down the heat, cover the pan, and let the beans simmer until they are tender. Taste them after 1 hour and estimate how much longer they should cook. (In my case, they were ready)
Check the beans at regular intervals. If necessary, add some hot water to ensure there is enough liquid to cover the beans.
Let the beans cool in their broth, then remove the aromatics and discard them. Let the beans rest in their cooking broth until ready to use.

Roast the poblano peppers

Heat the oven to 375 F / 190 C. For efficiency's sake, consider roasting several peppers and refrigerate or freeze the extra.
Place the poblano peppers on a baking sheet. Roast for 15 minutes, then turn the peppers 180 degrees.
Roast for 15 more minutes, then turn the peppers. Repeat after 10 minutes. The peppers are ready when their skin has turned dark and is detaching in places. If necessary, continue roasting for a few more minutes.
Put the peppers in a sealed container or paper bag to steam, then peel off the skin, discard the stem and seeds, and the liquid they release.
Weigh the amount needed for the recipe. Cut the flesh into squares ½ inch / 1.25 cm side and transfer to a small bowl. Set aside.

Prepare the dish

Peel and deseed the squash. I use a grapefruit spoon to remove the seeds and a sturdy swivel vegetable peeler to peel the squash.
Weigh the amount of squash needed. Cut the squash into small bite-sized pieces, no more than ½ inch / 1.25 cm.
In a 10-inch / 25-cm deep sauté pan or large skillet, warm up the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, stir well, cook for 1 minute, then turn down the heat. Cover the pan and cook on low heat for 8 minutes or so, until the onion is soft, stirring often and making sure the pan does not become dry.
Add the thyme, spices and garlic to the pan and stir well.
After 1 minute, turn up the heat to medium, add the cut squash and stir well. Add the tomato passata and stir well.
Cover the pan, lower the heat and cook until the squash is just tender (10 minutes or as needed), stirring every now and then.
In the meantime, wash and drain the escarole leaves, halve them lengthwise then slice them crosswise into 1/2-inch / 2.5 cm strips.
Add the chopped escarole leaves to the pan and stir well. Cover and let cook for 4 minutes.
Add the beans and stir well. Cover and let cook for 2 minutes.
Add the corn and chopped poblano peppers and stir well. Cover and cook for 2 minutes.
Sprinkle the sea salt and stir. Taste and adjust the salt as needed. Remove the pan from the heat. Serve immediately.

Notes

Cook the beans, roast the poblano peppers and thaw the frozen corn ahead of preparing the dish.

Try combining different varieties of winter squash and beans to get a slightly different dish.

¹The book’s page on the publisher’s website
² The quote is from a paper cited on the USDA National Agricultural Library page The Three Sisters of Indigenous American Agriculture
³ From briciole’s archive: Recipe for Roasted poblano peppers with corn. and for Strained roasted tomatoes

Click on the Play button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post

Cook the Books logo This is my contribution to the current selection of our Cook the Books hosted by Debra of Eliot’s Eats. (You can find the guidelines for participating in the event on this page.)

This is the roundup of the event.

FTC disclosure: I have received the table linen free of charge from the manufacturer (la FABBRICA del LINO). I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for presenting it on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

green cabbage with honeynut squash and chestnuts / cavolo cappuccio con zucca e castagne

November 30, 2024December 25, 2025 | Simona

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green cabbage honeynut squash chestnuts — fall flavors combine to make a delicious side dish
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

Our current Cook the Books Club selection is Crying in H Mart a memoir by Michelle Zauner. In August 2018, the author had an essay published in The New Yorker magazine¹ with the same title. It starts like this:

Ever since my mom died, I cry in H Mart. For those of you who don’t know, H Mart is a supermarket chain that specializes in Asian food. The “H” stands for han ah reum, a Korean phrase that roughly translates to “one arm full of groceries.”

The essay became the first chapter of the memoir, which

maps a complicated mother-daughter relationship cut much too short. Stories of Korean food serve as the backbone of the book, as Zauner plumbs the connections between food and identity. That search takes on new urgency after her mother’s death — in losing her mother, she also lost her strongest tether to Korean culture.²

For most of the book, I had difficulty connecting to the author. I finally felt the connection when, after her mother’s death, Zauner experienced the unbearable weight of perceived failure in their inability of winning the fight against cancer. (My mother died 14 years ago, also of cancer.) Adding that crushing burden to a person’s grief is unfair. I believe we should erase the metaphors used to describe cancer’s progression in favor of factual words.

I expected the book to make me want to try Korean food, but it didn’t. Part of the reason is that most of the dishes mentioned (and there are a lot!) are meat-based. Then, the food is part of the language and narrative of the book. Not being Korean, I don’t have any memories of, or associations with those dishes. However, I understand the feeling. Shopping at a supermarket (supermercato) is one of the first things I do when I arrive in Italy for a visit: surrounded by familiar foods, I have truly arrived.

street seller of roasted chestnuts (Perugia, 2012)

So the book inspired me to look at a food from my upbringing, something not only Italian, but from my family traditions. When I was in Italy last month, the smell of roasted chestnuts (caldarroste), which in Italy are sold as street food, reminded me of my mother. Every October, she would buy a large amount of chestnuts from someone in Casperia, the village in central Italy where she grew up. Then, in the following weeks, we would eat them often, as dessert at the end of dinner, alternatively roasted and boiled. I liked them both ways.

A trail above Bressanone through a chestnut grove — a trail above Bressanone through a chestnut grove

In Bressanone, a city in South Tyrol, where we spent the first week of the recent visit, one day I rode my bicycle through a castagneto (grove of chestnut trees) and saw people foraging for chestnuts, freeing them from the spiny burs (ricci). While chestnuts are not widely available where I live now, one farm brings them to the market. When, upon returning from Italy, I saw them, I was inspired to use them to make a side dish, together with other seasonal ingredients: honeynut squash, green cabbage, leeks.

The main ingredients: lek, cabbage, chestnuts, winter squash — The main ingredients
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

The side dish is earthy and sweet (almost dessert-like) and you can easily make it vegan by omitting the butter and adding another tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil. It is a great choice for Holiday-related gatherings as it accommodates a variety of eating styles.

Print-friendly version of briciole’s recipe for Green cabbage with honeynut squash and chestnuts

Ingredients:

5 ounces / 140 grams raw chestnuts
1 small bay leaf
8 ounces / 225 grams honeynut squash, clean weight
6 ounces / 170 grams leek, white and light green portion, clean weight (set aside the darker green portion to make broth or stock)
2 tablespoons / 30 ml extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon / 15 grams unsalted butter OR 1 tablespoon / 15 ml extra-virgin olive oil [vegan option]
1 pound / 450 grams green cabbage
4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
½ teaspoon harissa spice mix
¼ cup / 60 ml lukewarm water
¾ -1 teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste

Notes: 1) The chestnuts must be prepared in advance, so plan accordingly. 2) If you cannot find the honeynut squash, you can use a small butternut or red kuri squash.

Do ahead: Cook the chestnuts
With a pointed blade, make a slit in the shell without cutting through the meat. Place the chestnuts in a saucepan, cover abundantly with water and add the bay leaf. Cover the saucepan, bring to a lively boil then cook on low heat until the chestnuts are tender (check one after 30 minutes to estimate the time remaining).

Take the pan off the heat. Take out of the water 3 chestnuts. Wait a minute to let them cool and peel the first one. Use a sharp knife with a pointed blade to remove the shell, then the skin. Take another one out of the water, then peel one of the first 3, and so on: this creates a lineup of chestnuts cool enough to handle but warm enough for easier peeling. If a chestnut breaks while being handled, it is fine: they will be roughly chopped later anyway. Set aside.

Prepare the dish
Use a sturdy swivel vegetable peeler to peel the squash. Deseed the squash, if needed. Slice it, then cut it into cubes no larger than ½ inch / 1.25 cm. (If you use a red kuri squash, quarter it and deseed it first, then peel it.)

Cut the leek (or leeks) in half lengthwise and slice into 1/8 inch / 3 mm half-moons. Rinse well in a colander, then place in a bowl and fill it with cold water. With your hands, swirl the leeks to clean them well, then scoop them out of the water with a sieve or slotted spoon and drain them in a colander.

Warm the olive oil and butter (if using) in a 10-inch deep sauté pan or large skillet on medium heat. Turn the heat down to medium-low, add the leeks, stir well and cook for 2 minutes. Add the squash, stir well and cook for another 2 minutes. Cover the pan and cook on low heat for 8 minutes, stirring often, until the leeks are just tender and the squash has softened a bit.

In the meantime, quarter and core the cabbage. Cut away the external thick ribs. Slice each quarter into ¼-inch / 6-mm-thick ribbons.

Turn up the heat to medium-low. Add the garlic to the pan, sprinkle the harissa on the vegetables and stir well. After 1 minute, add the cabbage and the water, stir slightly (this will be a bit awkward, given the volume of the raw cabbage) and cover. Cook over low heat until the cabbage is almost ready (15-18 minutes, or as needed), stirring often.

In the meantime, cut each chestnut into 6-8 pieces.

Add the chestnuts to the cabbage and stir well. Cover and continue cooking for 3-5 minutes, stirring often, until the chestnuts are heated through and the cabbage and squash are tender.

Sprinkle ¾ teaspoon of salt on the vegetables, stir, taste and add more salt, if needed. Remove the pan from the heat. Serve immediately.

Serves 5-6.

¹The essay published on The New Yorker
² The book’s review on NPR

Click on the Play button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post

Cook the Books logo This is my contribution to the current selection of our Cook the Books hosted by me, Simona of briciole. (You can find the guidelines for participating in the event on this page.)

The roundup of the event.

winter squash and beans / zucca e fagioli

March 9, 2024March 5, 2026 | Simona

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versione in italiano

winter squash and beans — a simple pairing with a lot of flavor
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

This is my interpretation of a traditional dish from Italy. The first recipe I read uses black-eyed peas (fagioli dall’occhio) so that’s what I used in my first version, together with some Musquée de Provence squash I found at the farmers’ market. I then read other recipes which referenced “white beans” (fagioli bianchi). I had some Zolfino bean¹ (fagiolo zolfino), an Italian heirloom variety, so I used that. For my final try, I used locally grown organic Yellow Eye beans, which performed best in the recipe.

beans and squash — black-eyed peas (top), zolfino (middle) and yellow eye beans (bottom), Speckled Hound squash (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

In terms of squash, besides the Musquée de Provence, I used Speckled Hound (locally grown by the same farm that grows the beans) and a Honeynut squash, also from the farmers’ market. All the squash varieties performed well.

All the recipes I read list cooked beans as one of the ingredients. I start with dried beans and my recipe below includes instructions on cooking the beans. The fresh ginger (zenzero) is my addition: it is the perfect complement to winter squash.

Print-friendly version of briciole’s recipe for Winter squash and beans

Ingredients for the beans:

1/2 cup / 100 g / 3 1/2 ounces Yellow Eye beans or other similar beans
2 cups / 480 ml water
1/2 bay leaf
1 garlic clove, sliced
1/2 small onion, halved
A couple of parsley stems
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

Ingredients for the dish:

Half of the cooked beans and their liquid (see below)
1 pound / 450 grams winter squash (for example, Speckled Hound, Musquée de Provence), clean weight
2 tablespoons / 30 ml extra-virgin olive oil
4 ounces / 112 grams red onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley

Cook the dry beans
Rinse the beans then place them in a small saucepan with the water, the aromatics and the sea salt. Cover, bring the water to a lively boil and keep it there for 4-5 minutes. Turn down the heat and let the beans simmer, covered, until they are tender. Taste them after 1 hour and estimate how much longer they should cook.

Check the beans at regular intervals. If necessary, add some hot water to ensure there is enough liquid to cover the beans.

Let the beans cool in their broth, then remove the aromatics and discard them. Let the beans rest in their cooking broth until ready to use.

Prepare the dish
Drain the beans and weigh separately the beans and their liquid: set aside half of each for the recipe. Put the rest of the beans back in the rest of the liquid and refrigerate for use within the next few days.

Peel and deseed the squash. I use a grapefruit spoon to remove the seeds and a sturdy swivel vegetable peeler to peel the squash. Depending on the type of squash, you may halve it first, then deseed it, then peel it. This is what I did with the Speckled Hound squash. If you are using a honeynut squash, however, it is easier to peel it first, then cut it. I purchased the Musquée de Provence cut into sections and already deseeded, so I only had to peel it.

Weigh the amount of squash needed. Cut the squash into small bit-sized pieces.

In a 10-inch / 25-cm deep sauté pan, warm up the olive oil on medium heat, add the onion, stir well, then turn down the heat. After 1 minute, add the grated ginger and stir well. Cover the pan and cook on low heat for 8 minutes, until the onion is soft, stirring often and making sure the pan does not become dry.

Add the garlic to the pan and stir well. After 1 minute, turn up the heat to medium, add the cut squash and stir well. Add 2 tablespoons of the bean broth and stir well. Cover, lower the heat and cook until the squash is just tender (15 minutes or as needed), stirring every now and then. Add the beans and stir well. Cover and let cook for 5 minutes.

Sprinkle the sea salt and stir. Remove the pan from the heat, sprinkle the parsley on the vegetables and stir well. Serve immediately.

Serves 2-3.

By using different varieties of winter squash and beans, every time you get a slightly different dish.

¹Zolfino bean page on the Slow Food Foundation site

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post

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zucca e fagioli

Lettera dopo lettera, siamo arrivati alla Z, ultima tappa del nostro viaggio alfabeto-gastronomico. Dopo aver contemplato ricette da varie parti del mondo, ho deciso di rimanere in Italia con un piatto semplice e gustoso, nel quale si incontrano due ingredienti che amo molto: la zucca e i fagioli.

La prima ricetta l’ho trovata sul sito dell’Accademia Italiana della Cucina: zucca e fagioli dall’occhio ‘all’uso di Formia’.¹ Ho poi trovato un paio di altre ricette² (‘alla napoletana’) che utilizzano fagioli bianchi (e la cipolla). Come al solito, ho fatto vari esperimenti, utilizzando diverse varietà di zucca e di fagioli, non solo quelli dall’occhio, ma anche il fagiolo zolfino, originario della Toscana.³ e una varietà chiamata “Yellow Eye” coltivata in un’azienda agricola vicino a dove abito, che è anche l’origine della zucca Speckled Hound nella foto qui sotto. In termini di zucca ho utilizzato anche della Musquée de Provence e Honeynut.

fagioli e zucca — fagioli dall’occhio (in alto), fagiolo zolfino (in mezzo) e yellow eye (in basso) e zucca Speckled Hound (tovaglietta di La FABBRICA del LINO)

Nessuna delle ricette che ho letto descrive la cottura dei fagioli quindi io ho usato la mia ricetta base per cuocerli. L’uso dello zenzero fresco è dettato dal mio gusto: lo zenzero è complemento perfetto alla zucca.

Ingredienti per i fagioli:

100 grammi di fagioli piccoli, come il fagiolo zolfino
400 ml d’acqua
1/2 foglia d’alloro
1 spicchio d’aglio a fettine
1/2 cipolla piccola tagliata a metà
2 steli di prezzemolo
1/8 cucchiaino di sale fino

Ingredienti per il piatto:

metà dei fagioli cotti e del loro liquido di cottura
450 grammi di zucca, peso pulito
2 cucchiai / 30 ml di olio extra-vergine d’oliva
112 grammi di cipolla rossa tritata
1 cucchiaio di radice di zenzero grattugiata
1 spicchio d’aglio tritato
1 cucchiaino di sale fino
1 cucchiaio di prezzemolo fresco tritato

Preparate i fagioli
Sciacquate i fagioli, poi metteteli in una piccola pentola con l’acqua, gli odori e il sale. Coprite, portate a bollore vivace rapidamente e mantenete per 4-5 minuti. Abbassate il calore, e fate cuocere i fagioli a fuoco dolce fino a quando siano teneri. Controllate i fagioli ad intervalli regolari e, se necessario, aggiungete dell’acqua bollente per tenerli immersi nel liquido di cottura.

Fate freddare i fagioli nel liquido di cottura, poi rimuovere gli odori e scartateli. Lasciate i fagioli nel loro brodo fino a quando siete pronti ad utilizzarli.

Preparate il piatto
Scolate i fagioli e pesateli separatamente dal loro liquido di cottura: mettete da parte metà dei fagioli e del liquido per la ricetta. Mettete il resto dei fagioli nel resto del loro liquido di cottura. Conservate in frigorifero e utilizzate nel giro di pochi giorni.

Sbucciate la zucca e rimuovete i semi. Io uso un pelaverdure verticale per sbucciare la zucca e un cucchiaio da pompelmo per rimuovere i semi. A seconda del tipo di zucca che utilizzate, tagliatela prima a metà, poi togliete i semi e poi sbucciatela. Ho fatto così con la Speckled Hound, mentre con la Honeynut e più facile prima sbucciarla, poi tagliarla. Ho comprato la Musquée de Provence tagliata a sezioni e senza semi quindi ho dovuto solo sbucciarla.

Pesate la quantità di zucca necessaria e tagliatela a cubetti.

In una padella di 25 cm a bordi alti, scaldate l’olio su calore medio, aggiungete la ciposlla, mescolate bene, poi abbassate il calore. Dopo un minuto, aggiungete lo zenzero e mescolate bene. Incoperchiate e cuocete a fuoco basso per 8 minuti, fino a quando la cipolla sia tenera, mescolando spesso e assicurandovi che il fondo non si asciughi.

Aggiungete l’aglio e mescolate bene. Dopo un minuto, alzate il calore a medio, aggiungete la zucca e mescolate bene. Aggiungete 2 cucchiai del liquido di cottura dei fagioli e mescolate bene. Incoperchiate e cuocete a fuoco basso fino a quando la zucca sia appena tenera (15 minuti circa, o il tempo necessario), mescolando di tanto in tanto.

Aggiungete i fagioli e mescolate bene. Incoperchiate e cuocete per 5 minuti.

Salate e mescolate. Togliete la padella dal calore, spargete il prezzemolo e mescolate bene. Servite immediatamente.

Porzioni: 2-3

La possibilità di creare accoppiate diverse scegliendo diverse varietà di fagioli e di zucca rende questo piatto particolarmente attraente.

¹ La ricetta della zucca e fagioli dall’occhio dell’Accademia italiana della cucina
² Una ricetta di zucca e fagioli alla napoletana e un’altra
³ Fagiolo zolfino Presidio Slow Food

Un mondo d'ingredienti logo Contribuisco questo piatto di zucca e fagioli dall’Italia (che ho preparato anche col fagiolo zolfino e che comprende lo zenzero tra gli ingredienti) alla lettera Z di Un mondo d’ingredienti evento creato dall’instancabile Aiu’ di Trattoria Muvara

FTC disclosure: Ho ricevuto gli articoli di lino gratuitamente dall’azienda produttrice (la FABBRICA del LINO). Non ho ricevuto e non riceverò alcun compenso per presentarli sul mio blog. Le opinioni espresse nel post sono interamente personali.

red Napa cabbage and winter squash with applesauce / cavolo napa rosso e zucca con salsa di mele

November 29, 2021 | Simona

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red napa cabbage and winter squash with applesauce / DSCN0120

a personal take on the cabbage and apple pairing

The current Cook the Books Club selection is Cinnamon and Gunpowder by Eli Brown:

The year is 1819, and the renowned chef Owen Wedgwood has been kidnapped by the ruthless pirate Mad Hannah Mabbot. He will be spared, she tells him, as long as he puts exquisite food in front of her every Sunday without fail.¹

There's the pirate ship's colorful cast of characters — Mr. Apples, the knitting thug; mysterious twins Feng and Bai; and Joshua, who can neither hear nor speak and becomes a sort of adopted son to Wedgwood — plus buried family secrets aplenty and a thorough condemnation of the inhumane trading of tea, slaves and opium.²

The novel offered a change of time and scenery to my usual reading: I sailed on the Flying Rose, met the characters, followed their adventures and on Sundays I sat down with Captain Mabbott and Chef Wedgwood to savor his dishes and their conversation. As you can imagine from the premise, there was a fair amount of food in the book, some intriguing dishes, some less so, all providing to the reader a chance to think about the limitations of cooking on a ship that spends a lot of time sailing and does not have refrigeration on board.

During a visit to an island, Wedgwood encounters lemongrass (citronella) and that gave me the idea of using it, something I have never done. However, I could not find fresh lemongrass where I have been recently, so I found inspiration in the episode where Wedgwood gets hold of fresh cabbage and makes sauerkraut (crauti) with it. Some years ago I made sauerkraut at home and realized that I am not wild about it. I do like cabbage, though, all the various types. The variety that caught my attention at recent farmers' markets is pretty red Napa cabbage.³

red napa cabbage and winter squash with applesauce / IMG_4181

beauties on display at the farmers' market
(brought to you by Luna Farm)

I became better acquainted with Napa cabbage a few years ago when I worked on my rendition of the Indonesian dish Orak Arik Wortel (Napa cabbage, carrot and egg scramble)⁵ for the cookbook Risikitchen.⁶ It was time to develop another recipe with it and here it is.

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Red Napa cabbage and winter squash with applesauce

Ingredients for the vegetables:

9 ounces / 255 grams winter squash, to obtain a clean weight of 8 ounces / 225 grams
6 ounces / 170 grams red onion
3 tablespoons / 45 ml extra-virgin olive oil
13-14 ounces / 370-40 grams red Napa cabbage
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
½ teaspoon berbere (Ethiopian spice mix)
3 tablespoons / 45 ml lukewarm water
¾ teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste
Roasted applesauce (recipe below) or your favorite applesauce (unsweetened), to serve

Remove seeds and strings from the squash (a grapefruit spoon is my favorite tool to do this). Use a sturdy swivel vegetable peeler to peel the squash, then cut it into small cubes.

Peel the onion, halve it and thinly slice it lengthwise.

Warm up the olive oil in a 10-inch deep sauté pan or large skillet on medium heat. Turn down the heat to medium-low, add the onion, stir well and cook for 2 minutes. Add the squash, stir well and cook for 2 minutes. Cover the pan and cook on low heat for 10 minutes, stirring often.

In the meantime, separate the Napa cabbage leaves and slice them 1/4-1/2 inch / 0.6-1.25 cm thick.

Add the garlic to the pan, sprinkle the berbere and stir well. After 1 minute, add the cabbage and the water, stir slightly (this first stirring will be a bit awkward, given the cabbage volume) and cover. Cook on low heat until the Napa cabbage and squash are tender (20 minutes or so), stirring often. Should the pan become dry, add another tablespoon of water.

Sprinkle salt, stir, taste then adjust as needed. Remove the pan from the heat.

Serve with roasted applesauce on the side. Spoon some applesauce on the portion of vegetables, stir it in and enjoy.

Serves 5.

Ingredients for a batch of roasted applesauce:

3 pounds / 1.36 kg apples (se Note below)
A generous pinch of fine sea salt

Note: Since they are left unpeeled, organic or pesticide-free apples are strongly recommended. In terms of varieties, mix sweet and tart varieties to get a balanced flavor.

Heat the oven to 500 F / 260 C.

Rinse well, quarter and core the apples. If an apple is large, cut each quarter in half lengthwise. Distribute the apples in a 3 quart / 3 liter pyrex baking dish or similar baking vessel, sprinkle the salt and stir briefly. Cover with aluminum foil and seal around the edges. Bake 30 minutes or until the apples are soft.

Remove the foil carefully to let the steam out and transfer the apples into a bowl. Purée the apples with an immersion blender. At the beginning, pulse and move the blender to start breaking the apples, then reduce them to a fairly smooth purée.

Spoon the applesauce into sterilized jars, put the lid on and store in the refrigerator.

my idea of comfort side dish
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

My side dish is not at the level of the delicacies Chef Wedgwood developed for Captain Mabbot, but it is greeted with enthusiasm at the dinner table and that, for me, is the best reward.

¹ The book's page on the publisher's website
² A review of the book on NPR's website
³ Napa cabbage is known also with other names
⁴ From this blog: roasted apple sauce
⁵ Article on (and recipe for) Orak Arik Wortel (Napa cabbage, carrot and egg scramble)
⁶ Risikitchen: Ricette vincenti da tutto il mondo (in Italian, edited by Eloisa Vargiu)

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

cavolo napa rosso e zucca con salsa di mele

or launch the cavolo napa rosso e zucca con salsa di mele audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

This is my contribution to the current selection of our Cook the Books hosted by Claudia of Honey form Rock . (You can find the guidelines for participating in the event on this page.)

The roundup of the event.

Napa cabbage, side dish, winter squash, applesauce

recipe: red Napa cabbage and winter squash with applesauce

November 27, 2021 | Simona

Red Napa cabbage and winter squash with applesauce

by Simona Carini

Prep Time: 30 minutes total

Cook Time: 25 minutes for the vegetables, 30 minutes for the roasted applesauce

Keywords: side gluten-free soy-free sugar-free vegetarian vegan summer fall onion Napa cabbage winter squash applesauce

Ingredients (serves 5)

For the vegetables

9 ounces / 255 grams winter squash, to obtain a clean weight of 8 ounces / 225 grams
6 ounces / 170 grams red onion
3 tablespoons / 45 ml extra-virgin olive oil
13-14 ounces / 370-40 grams red Napa cabbage
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
½ teaspoon berbere (Ethiopian spice mix)
3 tablespoons / 45 ml lukewarm water
¾ teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste
Roasted applesauce (recipe below) or your favorite applesauce (unsweetened), to serve

For the roasted applesauce

3 pounds / 1.36 kg apples (se Note below)
A generous pinch of fine sea salt

Instructions

Note: Since they are left unpeeled, organic or pesticide-free apples are strongly recommended. In terms of varieties, mix sweet and tart varieties to get a balanced flavor.

To prepare the roasted applesauce: Heat the oven to 500 F / 260 C.

Spoon the applesauce into sterilized jars, put the lid on and store in the refrigerator.

To prepare the vegetables: Remove seeds and strings from the squash (a grapefruit spoon is my favorite tool to do this). Use a sturdy swivel vegetable peeler to peel the squash, then cut it into small cubes.

Peel the onion, halve it and thinly slice it lengthwise.

In the meantime, separate the Napa cabbage leaves and slice them 1/4-1/2 inch / 0.6-1.25 cm thick.

Sprinkle salt, stir, taste then adjust as needed. Remove the pan from the heat.

Serve with roasted applesauce on the side. Spoon some applesauce on the portion of vegetables, stir it in and enjoy.

Go to the full post on Red Napa cabbage and winter squash with applesauce

honeynut squash, blue cheese and walnut bites / bocconcini di zucca, formaggio erborinato e noci

November 30, 2020 | Simona

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Appetizer in progress
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

Our current Cook the Books Club selection is the novel The Secret, Book and Scone Society by Ellery Adams¹, a mystery that revolves mainly around a bookstore (libreria).

The bookstore's owner, Nora, having once been healed by books, has chosen to do the same with other people. Besides Nora, the society of the title includes three other women, quite different from each other, each with a secret, a story she will at some point share. One of them is a baker with a special gift of baking 'personalized' scones, which evoke intense memories (ricordi) in those who eat them.

The novel strikes a balance between the murder plot and the background stories of the four women, particularly of Nora. She emerges as a courageous person and steadying force in the group.

It would have been fitting to develop a recipe for scones, a pastry of which I have been a great fan ever since tasting it for the first time in London, many years ago. This blog includes eight recipes for scones² using ingredients like carrots, persimmons, strawberries, red beets (see the complete list at the bottom of this post). But as the story focuses on the slow opening up of each woman to the others, I thought I would prepare a dish that could be shared during one of their meetings.

Then life happened: in early November, I fell on the sidewalk, broke my left little finger and have had my left hand in a half cast and bandage ever since. Everyday things, like washing my face, chopping foods, picking up a pan, typing, became difficult and tiresome. I still clung to my original idea and the recipe below reflects the season with its availability of countless varieties of winter squash. No matter how many new ones I try each fall, the following year I find some new ones.

honeynut squash, blue cheese and walnut bites

Almost ready: a quick stay in the oven and then: Buon appetito! (bar board
by BHV Woodworks⁵, placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

The honeynut squash looks like a mini butternut squash: it has the same elongated shape, solid neck, bulbous end, but it is smaller, darker in color and sweeter in flavor. When I see a new-to-me type of winter squash, I always think that I had not been looking in the right place. But honeynut squash is indeed a relatively new variety, as a 2017 article in Bon Appétit explains³. A recipe for blue cheese and butternut squash crostini on an advertisement page in the current edition of Edible East Bay⁴ and honeynut squash in my squash stash contributed to the creation of this appetizer (in particular, the idea of toasting walnuts in rosemary-flavored oil).

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Honeynut squash, blue cheese and walnut bites

I am not giving set quantities but general directives. Assume 4 bites per person as an appetizer and estimate 1 honeynut squash will serve 3-4 people, depending on size.

Do not worry about preparing extra squash slices and/or topping components: they can be stored for a couple of days or used in other dishes.

Ingredients:

Honeynut squash
Extra-virgin olive oil
Walnuts, possibly freshly shelled
Needles from a fresh rosemary sprig (rametto di rosmarino), chopped
Shallot or red onion, chopped finely
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Blue cheese of good quality
A small amount of milk, dairy or not

Heat the oven to 375 F / 190 C. Prepare a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat.

Using a sturdy swivel vegetable peeler, peel the squash. Slice off top and bottom. Cut the squash into 1/4-inch thick slices. When you get to the seed cavity, cut the squash in half lengthwise and remove seeds and strings (a grapefruit spoon is my favorite tool to do this). Cut the squash into 1-inch sections to form small boats.

Distribute the squash pieces on the baking mat and bake them for 15 minutes: they should be tender. If not, flip and bake a few minutes longer. Transfer the squash onto a plate.

In the meantime, warm up a small frying pan and oil it lightly. Add the rosemary needles and stir. After 30 seconds, add the walnuts and toast them until fragrant, stirring often. Remove the walnuts and rosemary from the pan and transfer onto a paper towel to absorb excess oil. Let the walnuts cool slightly then chop finely. Set aside.

Again warm up the frying pan, add some olive oil and cook the shallot or onion until crisp/tender, stirring often and paying attention not to burn it. Sprinkle some sea salt and black pepper, stir again and set aside.

In a ramekin, crumble the blue cheese and add enough milk to turn into a thick cream, using a small fork to mix.

Assemble the bites: take a piece of squash, deposit a bit of the shallot or onion, top with a bit of the cheese and sprinkle some walnuts on top. Repeat until you have as many bites as needed. Avoid piling up too much topping: you want to be able to use your hands to pick up a bite and to taste all the flavors without one being overwhelming.

Put the baking sheet in the oven at 300 F / 150 C for a few minutes to just warm up the bites.

Transfer to a plate and serve immediately.

¹ The novel's page on the author's website
² Scone recipes from the blog: strawberry, persimmon, pear & coconut, baby zucchini & walnut, roasted carrot, red beet, apple & pistachio, curried pumpkin & ginger, ricotta & poppy seed
³ Bon Appétit article on honeynut squash
⁴ Edible East Bay
⁵ I purchased the board and coaster from BHV Woodworks

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

bocconcini di zucca, formaggio erborinato e noci

or launch the bocconcini di zucca, formaggio erborinato e noci audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

This is my contribution to the current selection of our Cook the Books hosted by me, Simona of briciole. (You can find the guidelines for participating in the event on this page.)

The roundup of the event.

FTC disclosure: I have received the table linens free of charge from the manufacturer (la FABBRICA del LINO). I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for presenting it on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

winter-squash, honeynut squash, blue cheese, appetizer, walnuts

recipe: honeynut squash, blue cheese and walnut bites

November 29, 2020 | Simona

Honeynut squash, blue cheese and walnut bites

by Simona Carini

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Keywords: appetizer vegetarian gluten-free soy-free sugar-free fall winter squash shallot walnuts blue cheese

Ingredients (4 pieces per person as appetizer)

I am not giving set quantities but general directives. Assume 4 bites per person as an appetizer and estimate 1 honeynut squash will serve 3-4 people, depending on size.

Do not worry about preparing extra squash slices and/or topping components: they can be stored for a couple of days or used in other dishes.

Honeynut squash
Extra-virgin olive oil
Walnuts, possibly freshly shelled
Needles from a fresh rosemary sprig, chopped
Shallot or red onion, chopped finely
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Blue cheese of good quality
A small amount of milk, dairy or not

Instructions

Heat the oven to 375 F / 190 C. Prepare a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat.

Distribute the squash pieces on the baking mat and bake them for 15 minutes: they should be tender. If not, flip and bake a few minutes longer. Transfer the squash onto a plate.

In a ramekin, crumble the blue cheese and add enough milk to turn into a thick cream, using a small fork to mix.

Put the baking sheet in the oven at 300 F / 150 C for a few minutes to just warm up the bites.

Transfer to a plate and serve immediately.

Go to the full post on Honeynut squash, blue cheese and walnut bites

sweet potato (kumara) and winter squash soup / zuppa di patata dolce (kumara) e zucca

January 31, 2016 | Simona

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

sweet potato squash and carrot soup / DSC_7801

an inviting bowl of soup
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

The 23rd country of our World Culinary ABC¹ is New Zealand (Nuova Zelanda), a country we visited 11 years ago. I have a trunkful of great memories from the trip and only a thimbleful of space here, so the following is just a taste (assaggio).

Karekare², the beach made famous by the movie The Piano (North Island).

We kayaked in many places, including the Kenepuru Sound (one of the Marlborough Sounds in the South Island)

and Lake Manapouri⁴ (South Island).

The Penguin Place Conservation Reserve⁵ (Otago Peninsula, South Island) allow visitors a close encounter with the bandit-looking yellow-eyed penguins⁶ (pinguini) that come ashore in the late afternoon after their day's work fishing off the coast.

A system of covered trenches allows people to observe the penguins' progress from the beach to their nests without obstructing it.

On Pilots Beach (Otago Peninsula) we watched blue penguins⁷ come ashore, but as that happened after dark and flash photography is not allowed, I don't have any images. The morning after, we kayaked to the beach and our guide found a penguin hanging out in the grass, so I was able to take a photo.

To celebrate New Zealand, I chose to make a soup showcasing kumara, that is, sweet potato⁸, an important crop for the Maori. I read a number of recipes from Kiwi sites⁹ and came up with a personal version using local vegetables like winter squash and carrots (zucca e carote).

making kumara soup

I made this soup a number of times and we loved it from the very first: it is creamy and flavorful, and its lovely orange color is guaranteed to cheer you up no matter how gray the sky is. As winter squash I used small-sized butternut squash I found at the farmers' market, but any other variety you have available will work. Roasting all the vegetables beforehand deepens the flavor of the soup: it is an additional step but quite worth the time.

Printer-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Sweet potato and winter squash soup

Ingredients:

1 pound 2 ounces / 500 g sweet potato
1 pound / 450 g winter squash, like a mini butternut squash or half of a larger squash
7 ounces / 200 g carrots
10.5 ounces / 300 g onion
2 tablespoons / 30 ml extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 cloves garlic
1 inch / 2.5 cm piece of fresh ginger
1 teaspoon / 5 ml ground cumin
1 teaspoon / 5 ml ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
2 cups / 475 ml chicken or vegetable stock/broth, possibly homemade
3 cups / 710 ml water
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste (depending on how salty the broth is)
Minced fresh flat-leaf parsley as topping, optional

How to prepare the vegetables
Heat the oven to 375 F / 190 C. Prepare a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat.

Peel the sweet potato and cut it into small cubes. Place in a large bowl.

Cut the winter squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds (a grapefruit spoon is my preferred tool for this task). Place on the baking sheet, cut side down.

Scrub carrots well and scrape surface to remove the thin skin. Cut each into bite-sized pieces and place in the bowl with the sweet potato.

Halve the onion, cut each half crosswise into 1/4 inch / 6 mm thick slices, and place in the bowl with the sweet potato.

Drizzle 1 tablespoon / 15 ml of olive oil on the vegetables and mix well to coat (your hands are the best tool for this step).

Spread the vegetables evenly on the same baking sheet with the squash and place in the oven.

Bake for 30 minutes and stir the chopped vegetables. Bake for another 10 minutes. (If after the first 30 minutes, some of the onion slices are turning too dark, transfer the cut vegetables to a bowl and continue baking only the squash.)

Let cool until you can handle the squash: scrape the flesh off the skin (again using a grapefruit spoon if you have it).

How to cook the soup
Mince the garlic and grate the ginger.

Warm up the remaining 1 tablespoon / 15 ml of olive oil in a soup pot on medium heat. Add garlic and stir well. Turn down the heat to medium-low and after 30 seconds add the ginger and stir well. After another 30 seconds, transfer into the pot the cut vegetables and the squash. Sprinkle the 3 spices then stir well.

Pour the liquids into the pot, cover and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and let the soup cook for 30 minutes, then test to make sure that: 1) a cube of sweet potato can be mashed with the back of your wooden spoon against the side of the pot, and 2) a piece of carrot can be easily cut in half with a knife. Cook soup longer, as needed.

Remove from the heat and let the soup rest for 15 minutes, then purée with an immersion blender. Add more water, if needed, to make the soup reach the desired consistency. Adjust salt and pepper to your taste.

I like to prepare soups ahead of time, so flavors have a chance to blend. If you do the same, reheat it and serve hot, optionally sprinkling some parsley on top.

Serves 6-8

¹ The World Culinary ABC kick-off post
²Karekare
³ The Piano
⁴ Lake Manapouri
⁵ Penguin Place Conservation Reserve
⁶ Yellow-eyed penguin
⁷ Blue penguin
⁸ Sweet potato
⁹ One recipe, another recipe and another recipe

I contribute my soup to the 23rd installment of the Abbecedario culinario mondiale (World Culinary ABC), an event organized by Trattoria MuVarA that will bring us to visit 26 countries of the world using the alphabet as guide. W like Wellington (New Zealand) is hosted by Monia of Gata da plar.

The list of recipes contributed to the event and their slide show.

FTC disclosure: I have received the placemat free of charge from the manufacturer (la FABBRICA del LINO). I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for presenting it on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

zuppa di patata dolce e zucca

or launch the zuppa di patata dolce e zucca audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

sweet potato, soup , winter squash, carrots

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zuppa di patata dolce e zucca

una zuppa invitante
(tovaglietta de La FABBRICA del LINO)

La ventitreesima tappa dell'Abbecedario culinario mondiale¹ è la Nuova Zelanda, paese che abbiamo visitato 11 anni fa. Ho un baule pieno di bei ricordi di quel viaggio, ma qui ho spazio solo per un assaggio.

Karekare, la spiaggia resa famosa dal film Lezioni di Piano²(North Island).

Abbiamo visitato diversi luoghi in kayak, compresi il Kenepuru Sound (uno dei Marlborough Sounds nella South Island)

e Lake Manapouri (South Island).

La Penguin Place Conservation Reserve³ (Otago Peninsula, South Island) permette ai visitatori di osservare i pinguini dagli occhi gialli⁴ che tornano a riva al termine di una giornata trascorsa a pescare al largo.

Un sistema di trincee coperte permette ai visitatori di osservare a distanza ravvicinata l'avanzata dei pinguini dalla spiaggia ai loro nidi senza disturbarli.

Alla Pilots Beach (Otago Peninsula) abbiamo visto tornare a riva i pinguini blu, ma dal momento che era buio e l'uso del flash è proibito, non ho immagini di quell'esperienza emozionante. La mattina dopo la nostra guida ha trovato un pinguino tra l'erba e ho potuto fargli una foto.

Per celebrare la Nuova Zelanda ho scelto di preparare una zuppa utilizzando kumara, cioè la patata dolce, tubero importante per i Maori. Ho letto un po' di ricette⁵ su siti kiwi e ho creato una versione personale con anche zucca e carote, verdure di stagione.

fasi di preparazione della zuppa

Ho preparato questa zuppa diverse volte ed è stato amore a primo assaggio: è cremosa, saporita ed ha un colore che rallegra. Come zucca ho usato delle mini butternut che ho trovato al farmers' market, ma zucca di un altro tipo va bene. Arrostire le verdure prima di fare la zuppa rende il sapore più complesso.

Ingredienti:

500 g patata dolce
450 g zucca (per esempio una mini butternut o metà di una zucca più grossa)
200 g carrote
300 g cipolla
2 cucchiai / 30 ml olio extra-vergine di oliva, diviso
2 spicchi d'aglio
2,5 cm radice di zenzero fresco
1 cucchiaino / 5 ml cumino in polvere
1 cucchiaino / 5 ml coriandolo in polvere
1/4 cucchiaino paprika dolce
475 ml brodo di pollo o vegetable, possibilmente fatto in casa
710 ml acqua
sale fino e pepe macinato fresco, q.b. (a seconda di quanto salato è il brodo)
prezzemolo tritato, facoltativo

Preparare le verdure
Scaldare il forno a 190 C. Preparare una placca da forno foderata con un tappetino di silicone per forno.

Pelare la patata dolce e tagliarla a cubetti. Metterli in un'insalatiera.

Tagliare a metà per lungo la zucca e rimuovere i semi (un cucchiaino da pompelmo è utilissimo sia per pulire la zucca che per rimuovere la polpe dalla buccia dopo la cottura). Porre la zucca con la parte tagliata in basso sulla placca da forno.

Lavare bene le carote e raschiarne la superficie con una lama per rimuovere la pellicina. Tagliarle a pezzi di un paio di cm e aggiungerli alla patata dolce.

Tagliare la cipolla a metà per lungo, poi tagliare ciascun pezzo a fettine di mezzo cm e aggiungerle alla patata dolce.

Spruzzare un cucchiaio / 15 ml dell'olio d'oliva sulle verdure e mescolare bene (le vostre mani sono il miglior attrezzo per questo passaggio).

Distribuire le verdure sulla placca con la zucca e infornare.

Cuocere per 30 minuti e mescolare le verdure a pezzi. Cuocere per altri 10 minuti. (Se dopo i primi 30 minuti qualche fettina di cipolla sta diventando troppo scura, trasferire le verdure a pezzi in un'insalatiera e continuare a cuocere solo la zucca.)

Far intiepidire fino a quando potete maneggiare la zucca e rimuoverne la polpa dalla buccia.

Preparare la zuppa
Tritare l'aglio e grattugiare lo zenzero.

Scaldare l'altro cucchiaio d'olio di oliva in una pentola da zuppa, poi aggiungere l'aglio e mescolare bene. Dopo 30 secondi aggiungere lo zenzero e mescolare. Dopo altri 30 secondi aggiungere le verdure arrosto e la zucca. Distribuire le 3 spezie e mescolare.

Versare nella pentola i due liquidi, mettere il coperchio e portare a bollore, poi abbassare il calore e far cuocere dolcemente per 30 minuti. Fate le seguenti prove: 1) un cubetto di patata dolce si schiaccia facilmente col dorso del cucchiaio di legno contro la parete della pentola; 2) un pezzo di carota si taglia facilmente a metà con un coltello. Se necessario, cuocere la zuppa più a lungo.

Rimuovere la pentola dal fuoco e far riposare la zuppa per 15 minuti, poi usare il frullatore a immersione. Aggiungere acqua, a piacere, fino ad ottenere la consistenza desiderata. Correggere sale e pepe a seconda del vostro gusto.

Di solito preparo le zuppe in anticipo, in modo che i sapori abbiano tempo per amalgamarsi. Se fate lo stesso, riscaldate la zuppa e servitela ben calda, magari con sopra un pochino di prezzemolo tritato.

Porzioni: 6-8

¹ Post inaugurale dell'Abbecedario culinario mondiale
² Lezioni di piano
³ Penguin Place Conservation Reserve (in inglese)
⁴ Pinguini dagli occhi gialli
⁵ Una ricetta, un'altra ricetta e ancora un'altra ricetta (tutte in inglese)

Con la mia zuppa partecipo alla ventitreesima tappa dell'Abbecedario culinario mondiale, un evento organizzato dalla Trattoria MuVarA che ci porterà a visitare 26 paesi del mondo usando le lettere dell'alfabeto come guida. W come Wellington (Nuova Zelanda) è ospitata da Monia di Gata da plar.

La lista di ricette contribuite all'evento e lo slide show che le mostra.

FTC disclosure: Ho ricevuto la tovaglietta gratuitamente dall'azienda produttrice (la FABBRICA del LINO). Non ho ricevuto e non riceverò alcun compenso per presentarlo sul mio blog. Le opinioni espresse nel post sono interamente personali.

zuppa di zucca / winter squash soup

April 7, 2013 | Simona

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

creamy winter squash soup

Being a winter squash hoarder means I still have "raw material" (materia prima) for soup, though the calendar says it's spring (primavera). Am I really the only one still drawing from a stash of squashes carefully stored during the winter? I suspect not. In any case, let's face it: it's time to use them. If you live on the other hemisphere, then you have squashes from the new crop to work with.

I met this recipe in the waiting room of my doctor's office. A quick look at the list of ingredients told me that the recipe deserved a test. While I have used the basic combination of ingredients many times, I have never made the soup as instructed: I use longer cooking times and follow my tried-and-true method of roasting squash or pumpkin before adding it to the soup. More recently, I have also added a couple of "special" ingredients to the list, which runs as follows:

1 3/4 lb. / 800 g flesh from one large or two small roasted squashes (see Note 1 below)
1 tablespoon / 15 ml olive oil
3/4 large onion, chopped + 1/2 large leek cut into half-moon slices OR 1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger (zenzero)
A 2-inch / 5 cm piece of kombu, optional but recommended
4 large garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons / 10 ml ground coriander
2 cups / 475 ml homemade chicken stock/broth OR vegetable broth
1/2-3/4 cup / 120-175 ml liquid from cooking beans (see Note 2 below)
1/2 cup / 120 ml homemade borș (see Note 3 below)
Water, as needed
Sea salt and freshly milled black pepper, to taste

Note 1: I have made this soup with different types of squash and pumpkin and in my opinion, the best performers are gray or green kabocha and in general squashes that, like the kabocha, are fairly dry. The version in the photo was made with a mix of butternut and white acorn and it was really nice. Pumpkin performs last in my informal hit parade.

Note 2: whenever I cook beans, I set aside the leftover cooking liquid and use it in soups.

Note 3: borș and bean cooking liquid are of course optional. You can make the soup without them, using some more broth and water.

How to prepare the winter squash(es)
Preheat the oven to 375 F. If the squash is hard, pre-process it as follows: pierce it with a blade in a few places, place it on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat, and bake it for 15 minutes, then let is cool slightly. This makes it easier to cut it in half.

Cut the squash (pre-processed or raw) in half lengthwise and remove the seeds (a grapefruit spoon is my preferred tool for this task). Place squash halves on the silicone baking mat, cut side down. Put back in the oven and bake until squash is tender, easily pierced with a blade. Let the squash cool and then scrape the flesh off the skin, again using a grapefruit spoon.

Weigh the amount required by the recipe. If you have some leftover, you can use it to make these scones or this bread (a slice of which is visible next to the soup bowl in the photo above).

How to prepare the soup
Rinse leek well in a colander. Warm up olive oil in a soup pot, then add onion and leek and stir well to coat. Let cook for a few minutes, then add the ginger and stir. Let cook gently for another 8 minutes, stirring often. Add kombu, garlic and coriander, stir, and cook for a couple of minutes.

Place squash flesh in the pot, stir and then add the three types of liquid, plus enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, covered, then turn down the heat so the soup bubbles gently. Cook for 25 minutes, then remove pot from heat. Season with a bit of salt and pepper and stir. Let the soup rest, covered, for 15 minutes, then purée with an immersion blender. Add water, if needed, to obtain a soup of the desired consistency. Adjust salt and pepper, if necessary.

Making the soup at least a few hours before you are planning to serve it will give it enough time to rest and ripen. Reheat the soup before serving it — possibly topped with a sprinkling of dukkah.

blooming trillium means: it's spring

Instead of another photo of the soup, I am sharing an image of one of my favorite wildflowers (with a little visitor).

This is my contribution to edition #378 of Weekend Herb Blogging, an event started by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, now organized by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once and hosted this week by Marta of Mangiare è un po' come viaggiare.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

zuppa di zucca

or launch the zuppa di zucca audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

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winter squash, ginger, coriander, soup

zuppa di zucca

zuppa di zucca cremosa

Essendo una che accumula zucche, ho ancora della "materia prima" per zuppe, anche se il calendario dice che è primavera. Credo di non essere l'unica che ancora centellina il suo mucchietto di zucche tenuto da parte con cura durante l'inverno. Comunque sia, devo accettare il fatto che vanno consumate. Chi invece vive nell'altro emisfero ha accesso al nuovo raccolto.

Questa ricetta l'ho incontrata nella sala d'attesa del mio dottore. Uno sguardo rapido mi disse che meritava una prova. Ho usato la combinazione degli ingredienti molte volte, ma non ho mai preparato la zuppa secondo le indicazioni della ricetta: utilizzo infatti tempi di cottura più lunghi e il mio metodo provato di cuocere al forno la zucca prima di aggiungerla alla zuppa. Di recente, ho anche aggiunto un paio di elementi "speciali" alla lista

Ingredienti:

800 g polpa di zucca arrosto da una o due zucche (vedi Nota 1)
1 cucchiaio / 15 ml olio EV d'oliva
3/4 cipolla grossa tritata + 1/2 porro grosso tagliato a mezzelune O 1 cipolla grossa, tritata
1 1/2 cucchiaio radice di zenzero tritata
un pezzo di kombu (5 cm), facoltativo ma raccomandato
4 spicchi d'aglio grossi, tritati
2 cucchiaini / 10 ml coriandolo in polvere
475 ml brodo di pollo [fatto in casa] oppure brodo vegetale [fatto in casa]
120-175 ml liquido di cottura dei fagioli (vedi Nota 2)
120 ml borș fatto in casa (vedi Nota 3)
acqua, q.b.
sale fino e pepe nero macinato fresco, q.b.

Nota 1: Ho preparato questa zuppa con tipi diversi di zucca e secondo me viene meglio con la kabocha (verde o grigia) e in generale con zucche che hanno la polpa piuttosto secca. La versione della foto l'ho preparata con un misto di zucca butternut e zucca acorn bianca: ottimo connubio.

Nota 2: quando cuocio i fagioli metto da parte il liquido di cottura e lo utilizzo nelle zuppe.

Nota 3: il borș e il liquido di cottura dei fagioli sono facoltativi. Potete preparare questa zuppa senza di essi, utilizzando un po' più di brodo e acqua.

Preparare la zucca
Scaldare il forno a 190 C. Foderare una placca da forno con un tappetino di silicone per il forno.

Per evitare di far saltare la lama al coltello nel tentativo di tagliare a metà una zucca, bucarla in alcuni punti con una lama appuntita e metterla in forno sulla placca preparata per 15 minuti. Quando si è intiepidita abbastanza da poterla toccare, procedere come descritto nel paragrafo successivo.

Se utilizzate una zucca che si taglia facilmente, saltate il passaggio descritto nel paragrafo precedente. Tagliare la zucca a metà e usare un cucchiaino da pompelmo per rimuovere i semi.

Metterla in forno, sulla placca preparata, con la parte tagliata in basso e cuocerla finché non è morbida. Toglierla dal forno e, quando è tiepida, usare il cucchiaino da pompelmo per rimuovere la polpa.

Pesare la quantità richiesta dalla ricetta. Se vi avanza della zucca, potete utilizzarla per preparare questi scone o questo pane (una fetta del quale è visibile accanto alla ciotola con la zuppa nella foto qui sopra).

Preparare la zuppa
Sciacquare bene il porro per eliminare ogni residuo di terra. Scaldare l'olio in una pentola da zuppa, poi aggiungere cipolla e porro e mescolare bene. Far cuocere alcuni minuti e poi aggiungere lo zenzero e mescolare. Far cuocere a fuoco dolce per altri 8 minuti mescolando spesso. Aggiungere kombu, aglio e coriandolo, mescolare e cuodere per un paio di minuti.

Mettere la polpa di zucca nella pentola e versare i tre liquidi, più abbastanza acqua da coprire la zucca. Mettere il coperchio e portare a bollore, poi abbassare il calore e far cuocere dolcemente per 25 minuti. Rimuovere la pentola dal fuoco, condire con un po' di sale e pepe e mescolare. Far riposare la zuppa per 15 minuti, poi usare il frullatore a immersione. Aggiungere acqua, se necessario, fino ad ottenere la consistenza desiderata. Correggere sale e pepe, se necessario.

Se preparate la zuppa alcune ore prima di servirla, le darete modo di riposare e maturare. Riscaldare la zuppa prima di servirla, magari con una spolverata di dukkah sulla superficie.

trillium in fiore fa primavera

Invece di un'altra foto della zuppa, condivido un'immagine di uno dei miei fiori preferiti (e di un piccolo visitatore).

Questo post è il mio contributo all'edizione numero 378 di Weekend Herb Blogging, un evento creato da Kalyn di Kalyn's Kitchen, organizzato ora da Haalo di Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once, la cui versione italiana è organizzata da Brii di briggishome, e ospitata questa settimana da Marta di Mangiare è un po' come viaggiare.

Questo post contiene il raccolto dell'evento.

zucca “delicata” con sardine / delicata squash with sardines

January 8, 2012 | Simona

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

Rule 7: Don’t overlook the oily little fishes.
If there’s one food you should be eating (and probably are not) it is the humble sardine. Sardines (Pacific, wild-caught) are one of the healthiest foods we can consume, according to health and environmental experts. These nutritional powerhouses are one of the best sources of omega-3 fats, with a whopping 1,950 mg/per 3 oz. (that’s more per serving than salmon, tuna or just about any other food) and they’re packed with vitamin D. [source]

The paragraph above was clearly written for me: while rationally I know that sardines should find a place in my diet, I am not charmed by them and so I have been respectfully ignoring them for years.

My current interest in sardines could be viewed as a New Year's resolution, but I actually started on this path at the end of last year, after finding an appealing product: canned sardines (sardine in scatola) in marinara sauce¹. The first recipe I developed with the new ingredients, after a promising debut, did not perform well the second time and I decided not to pursue it further. However, I had a leftover sardine, which I put to a different and interesting use. The resulting dish, a variation of a recipe I make fairly often, was good the second time around as well, so I am sharing it here.

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Delicata squash with sardines

Ingredients:

a delicata squash (22-24 oz. / 650 g), cut in half lengthwise, seeds and strings removed (a grapefruit spoon is my favorite tool to do this), or the same amount of another squash you like
olive oil
a medium shallot (scalogno), finely chopped
leaves from a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme (timo)
sea salt
freshly milled black pepper
2 tablespoons currants (uva sultanina) or small raisins (uvetta)
one or two canned sardines (see below)

Heat the oven to 375 F. Place the delicata squash, cut side down, on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat. Bake the squash 30-35 minutes, or until soft. Once cool, scoop the flesh out of the skin (a grapefruit spoon is useful for this step as well) and mash with a fork.

Place currants in a ramekin and cover with lukewarm water. Warm up a bit of olive oil in a small frying pan. Add shallot and thyme leaves and cook until the shallot is soft. Add a bit of broth or water from the currants to keep shallot moist. Season with a bit of salt and pepper. Add cooked shallot and drained currants to the squash and mix.

If sardines are preserved in olive oil or water, drain them. If sardines are preserved in something else, like the marinara sauce in my case, there is no need to drain them. If you like, yYou can actually add a bit of the preserving sauce to the sardines as you mash them. How many sardines is up to you: I added a rather large one the first time and two the second time.

Open up each sardine, remove the central bone and mash with a fork. Add mashed sardines to the squash and mix well. Adjust salt and pepper and serve. (I did not serve a sardine together with the squash, as shown in the photo below: I just wanted to show how the fish looks like when taken out of the can.)

So, this is currently my way of eating healthy sardines, their flavor toned down by that of delicata squash. As long as delicata squashes are available, I'll be fine. Then, I'll figure out something else.

I am also planning to make the same dish using a different kind of squash. I have been drawing from my stash of delicata squashes, but I am almost at the end, while I still have other kinds of squash in my storage space. (As a side note, the squashes in the foreground above are Red Kuri.

This is my contribution to edition #315 of Weekend Herb Blogging, an event started by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, now organized by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once and hosted this week (the first one of the new year) by Haalo herself.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

zucca "delicata" con sardine

or launch the zucca "delicata" con sardine audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

¹ The can of sardines in the photo is for information only: it is not an advertisement. I do not have a business relationship with the company referenced.

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winter squash, sardines

zucca "delicata" con sardine

Regola numero 7: Non ignorate i piccoli pesci grassi.
Se c'è un alimento che dovreste mangiare (e probabilmente non lo fate) è l'umile sardina. Secondo gli esperti, le sardine del Pacifico (pescate in modo sostenibile) sono uno degli alimenti più salutari che possiamo consumare. Le sardine sono una delle migliori fonti di acidi grassi omega-3: 85 g ne contengono ben 1950 mg (più di salmone, tonno e praticamente qualsiasi altro alimento), e sono anche ricche di vitamina D. [fonte, traduzione mia]

Importante: Dopo aver tradotto il paragrafo qui sopra, ho cercato delle notizie sulla sardina del Mediterraneo, che è una specie diversa da quella del Pacifico. Purtroppo, secondo il Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch, la sardina dell'Atlantico che si pesca nel Mediterraneo è un pesce da evitare poiché è in declino e i branchi non sono gestiti in modo efficace dai paesi interessati. Se avete altre informazioni sul tema o fate una ricerca tra i prodotti disponibili presso di voi, fatemi sapere che cosa trovate (per esempio, sono curiosa di sapere se in Italia si trovano scatolette di sardine del Pacifico).

Il paragrafo in alto è stato scritto apposta per me: razionalmente, lo so che le sardine sono un cibo ad alto valore nutritivo e perciò dovrebbero trovare posto nella mia alimentazione, ma non mi piacciono molto e quindi le ho rispettosamente ignorate per anni.

Il mio interesse odierno viene dall'aver trovato al supermercato un prodotto interessante: sardine in scatola conservate in salsa marinara. ¹. La prima ricetta che ho creato per questo nuovo ingrediente, dopo un debutto promettente, non ha replicato la performance e quindi ho deciso di non farla più. Però mi era rimasta una sardina e certo non l'ho scarata ma l'ho usata in modo diverso e interessante. Il piatto, una variazione di una ricetta che faccio spesso, mi è piaciuto anche la seconda volta che l'ho preparato e quindi lo condivido in questa sede.

Ingredienti:

una zucca "delicata" (650 g) tagliata nel senso della lunghezza e pulita (un cucchiaino da pompelmo è utilissimo sia per pulire la zucca che per rimuovere la polpa dalla buccia dopo la cottura), oppure lo stesso quantitativo di un tipo di zucca che vi piace
olio d'oliva
1 scalogno medio tagliato finemente
le foglioline di 2 o 3 rametti di timo fresco
sale e pepe macinato fresco a piacere
2 cucchiai (30 ml) di uva sultanina o uvetta piccola
una o due sardine in scatola [vedi sotto]

Scaldare il forno a 190 C. Porre la zucca con la parte tagliata in basso su una lastra da forno coperta da un tappetino di silicone per forno. Cuocere 30-35 minuti, o fino a quando non è morbida. Far intiepidire e rimuovere la polpa dalla buccia, poi schacciarla con una forchetta.

Coprire l'uva sultanina o uvetta con un po' d'acqua tiepida. Scaldare un po' d'olio in una padellina e cuocere lo scalogno insieme al timo. Aggiungere un po' di brodo o di acqua dell'uva per mantenere lo scalogno umido durante la cottura. Condire con un po' di sale e pepe e aggiungere alla zucca insieme all'uva scolata, poi mescolare.

Se le sardine sono conservate in olio o acqua, scolatele. Se sono conservate in una salsina come quelle che ho usato io, non c'è bisogno di scolarle e infatti potete aggiungere una piccola quantità della salsina alle sardine mentre le sminuzzate. Quante sardine? Sta a voi decidere. Io ne ho usata una piuttosto grossa la prima volta e due la seconda.

Aprire ogni sardina e rimuovere la lisca centrale, poi sminuzzare con una forchetta. Aggiungere alla zucca e mescolare bene. Correggere sale e pepe e servire. (Non ho servito una sardina insieme alla zucca, come si può pensare guardando la foto: volevo solo far vedere come appare la sardina una volta fuori dalla scatoletta.)

Questo è il modo in cui al ppresente mangio le sardine: il loro sapore di pesce un po' forte viene ammorbidito da quello della zucca. Quindi fino a quando ho a disposizione zucche, sono a posto. Poi mi inventerò qualcos'altro.

Ho anche in programma di provare ad usare un altro tipo di zucca, dal momento che ne ho diverse. (Le zucche in primo piano nella foto qui sopra si chiamano Red Kuri.)

Questo post è il mio contributo all'edizione numero 315 di Weekend Herb Blogging, un evento creato da Kalyn di Kalyn's Kitchen, organizzato ora da Haalo di Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once, la cui versione italiana è organizzata da Brii di briggishome, e ospitata questa settimana da Brii stessa.

Questo post contiene il raccolto dell'evento.

¹ La scatola di sardine nella foto è solo a titolo informativo; non è una pubblicità. Non ho alcun rapporto commerciale con l'azienda in questione.