Day 241: Curried Squash ♥

Today's weeknight-easy winter squash recipe: Cooked winter squash warmed in a skillet with onion and aromatic Indian-style spices, a lovely side dish or base for a supper protein. Very Weight Watchers Friendly, especially for Freestyle point counters. Not just vegan, Vegan Done Real. Naturally Gluten Free. Whole30 Friendly. And? Decidedly Tasty!

~recipe updated, first published way back in 2005~
~more recently updated recipes~

WAY BACK IN 2005 Wow! If you're roasting squash, roast an extra for this wonderful curry. The inspiring recipe called for more spices than I could imagine – combined, a whole tablespoon of mustard seed, turmeric, coriander and cumin. But it works, it really works. So easy and so-so good! And it may have possibilities way beyond a side dish too, perhaps making an interesting pizza base, vegetarian supper, maybe even thinned with broth for soup? Delicious, this!

THEN AGAIN IN 2007 If you're wondering about "too much heat" from all the spices, please don't worry. The squash is just lightly aromatic and flavorful with the spices. In fact, I can even imagine doubling the spices for something spice-forward.

AND AGAIN IN 2018 Wow! I think of winter squash as, well, a winter vegetable but in August, our garden starts to spit out huge butternut squashes, so big, it's all too tempting to pick one way too early. (By all rights, we should harvest butternut squash just before frost.) I threw a giant likely not-quite-ripe one into the oven to roast whole, then the next night made Curried Squash to serve with Baked Chicken with Fresh Peaches. What a great combo! Definitely one to repeat so now Curried Squash has a permanent home in my 3x5 recipe box with the other recipes I make over and over again. A keeper, this!

COMPLIMENTS!
"...it's wonderful!" ~ Khadijah

RECIPE for CURRIED SQUASH

Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Time to table: 20 minutes
Makes 3 cups

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 a red onion, diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon whole mustard seed

1 tablespoon brown sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon kosher salt

3 cups (about 660g) cooked winter squash (butternut, acorn, kabocha, etc.)
Water, as needed
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a large, deep skillet over MEDIUM HIGH. Add the oil and let it heat until shimmery. Reduce the heat to MEDIUM, add the onion and garlic, sauté until soft. Add the mustard seeds and cook for a minute or two, be careful, they just might pop!

While the onion cooks, assemble the sugar and spices. Stir them into the onion, cook for a minute or two until the spices are aromatic.

Add the squash, breaking it up with a spatula (or a potato masher if it resists being mashed), adding water as needed to break up the squash and achieve the desired consistency. (Watch the temperature carefully at this point, I suspect that if you're not paying attention, it'd be easy to burn the squash about now.) Cook until the squash is hot and any excess liquid is cooked off, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve hot as a side dish or as a vegetable substitute for rice or beans.

ALANNA'S TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES
MUSTARD SEEDS The inspiring recipe called for black mustard seeds, I've used both brown mustard seeds and yellow mustard seeds. These add a little texture but flavor-wise, I think you could easily skip these.
WINTER SQUASH I've used acorn squash but my favorite is butternut squash, it's a great reason to cook two. Here's how I roast a whole butternut squash, just throw it in the oven and let the heat do its magic!
MAKE IT SMOOTHER? You could, sure, put this through a food processor to make something unctuously smooth but me, I appreciate the rustic texture and appearance.

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Half Cup: 81 Calories; 2g Tot Fat; 0g Sat Fat; 0mg Cholesterol; 198mg Sodium; 15g Carb; 0g Fiber; 5g Sugar; 1g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS WW Old Points 2, WW PointsPlus 2, WW SmartPoints 3, WW Freestyle 1 CALORIE COUNTERS 100-calorie serving = 2/3 cup (1g protein).

TODAY'S VEGETABLE RECIPE INSPIRATION Adapted from Adapted from Gourmet, April 1997.

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MORE FAVORITE "MASHED & PURÉED" VEGETABLE RECIPES

~ Cauliflower Cream ~
~ Creamy Carrot Purée ~
~ Three Secrets for Rich & Creamy Mashed Potatoes ~
~ more vegetable purées & mashes ~
~ more vegetable curries ~
from A Veggie Venture

~ Homemade Kabocha Squash "Pumpkin" Purée ~
~ Mashed Potatoes & Carrots ~
~ Rustic Mashed Sweet Potatoes & Carrots ~
~ more vegetable recipes ~
from Kitchen Parade, my food column

SEASONAL EATING: THIS SAME WEEK ACROSS THE YEARS

Turkey & Turnip Soup Low-Carb Skillet Supper Pumpkin Corn Bread Curried Squash Veggies Can Make You Sick (Special Report) Vegetable Pulao Brussels Sprouts Dijon “I Like Broccoli” (A Story) Harvard Beets Oven-Cooked Lentil Soup Spaghetti Squash Cooked Whole Book Club Books - My Reading Group's Book List Carrot Salad with Pomegranate Healthy Red & Green Green-Bean Salad Healthy Holiday Salad with Broccoli, Cauliflower & Dried Cranberries Crazy-Smooth Crazy-Good Hummus

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