Winter Squash

Winter squash originated in the Andes of South America over 3000 years before Columbus. The word squash comes from the Narragansett Indian word askootasquash for "eaten raw." Indians baked winter squash in hot ashes and sweetened them with maple syrup or honey. Squash seeds were toasted or ground for pastes and hard shells used for containers.

Some winter squash is available year round but the season runs from August through March with the peak period from October to December.

Winter squash is a naturally sweet vegetable and can be seasoned in a similar way to sweet potatoes. To emphasize the sweetness; flavor with maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, clove and ginger. Try cooked garlic for a nutty mellowness or Chinese five-spice powder for an exotic note.

The exception is spaghetti squash. After baking a spaghetti squash (in a similar way to how the squash is baked in the recipe bellow), the flesh can be scooped with a fork like strands of spaghetti. Top it with a pasta sauce like tomato or pesto.

Toasted Winter Squash Seeds: Before cooking a squash, the seeds are removed. Rather than discarding them, rinse the seeds well in a colander and dry. Spread them on an oiled sheet pan and bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour, raising the temperature to 400 degrees during the last 5 minutes to brown lightly. Salt if desired and store in an airtight container.