Mashed Winter Squash Medley

Fall! I love this time of year. I love to watch the trees transform into their vibrant yellows, oranges and reds. I love the crispness of the the autumn air, and the sunny but less intense sun beating down upon the earth. It is a time of harvest, and with that comes a whole new array of options as I cook for my family and friends.

Today I needed to make a vegetable for a table of 12. My invite said “We’re having turkey, so think Thanksgiving.” I opened my fridge and found that I did not have any single veggie that would feed 12 people. So…what do you do when you don’t feel like going to the grocery store? You modify and become creative. Some people would find this terrifying, I love the challenge!

I gathered together the array of squashes that I had on hand, spaghetti squash (which I thought was a pumpkin, more on that later) butternut squash, acorn squash, and delicata squash. The idea brewing in my mind was, roast them all, and then mash them up, season them good, and whah la… veggie for 12. My goal: After consuming we would all be dreaming about revisiting that delicious taste as we gathered around our Thanksgiving tables in a few weeks.

This is the recipe that emerged:

MASHED WINTER SQUASH MEDLEY

PreHeat oven to 400 degrees.

1 Butternut squash

1 Acorn Squash

1 Delicata Squash

1 Spaghetti Squash

Olive Oil

McCormick’s Garlic and Herb Seasoning

Salt and pepper

2 whole cloves of garlic

Organic Chicken Broth

Directions: Cut all the squash in 1/2 and scoop out all seeds. Generously drizzle olive oil all over each side. Use hands to coat evenly. Season generously with Garlic and Herb seasoning. Next fill each of the “seed areas” about 1/2 full with water.

Slice off about 1/4” of the whole garlic clove, so the tops of the individual cloves are exposed. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Place the squash and the garlic all on a cookie sheet and put in oven. Cover the entire pan loosely with tin foil.

Fill a 9x13 pan 1/2 full with water. Place this in oven below the squash and garlic. This allows moisture to form, keeping the squash moist as it bakes.

Bake til fork tender, about 45 min. You want it to be very soft. Some kinds of squash may cook a little faster than others, so check all at this point. Remove the squash that is done, and return the garlic and other squash to the oven, uncovered. Bake another 10 min. Remove garlic. (You want the garlic to be soft, so you can easily “push it out” of its skin. Assess other squash, and remove or continue baking until done.

Scrape each squash clean from its skin into bowl. With a potato masher, mash all squash together. Use an immersion blender or food processor to desired smoothness. (I like mine to have a little texture rather than smooth, but do as you palette prefers.) Add the organic chicken broth at this point to reach desired consistency. Because the spaghetti squash has a different consistency than the other kinds, I did keep this separate, blended it in a blender to puree. (Remember I thought it was a pumpkin. I wish I had taken a picture of it, you would have agreed with me!!)

Squeeze garlic out of skins and add to squash mix. Add salt and pepper to taste, mix all together, and serve hot.

Tip: This works well to make up to 3 days before serving. Simply re-heat in oven at 350 degrees for 30min. or til hot in center and slightly bubbly around the edges.

Enjoy!

Kim