CSA Report: Blooming Glen Farm

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

It’s Winter squash season at Blooming Glen Farm—how lovely!  Winter squash is one of my very favorite kitchen staples, due to its versatility and the fact that each set of taste buds in the house enjoys the flavor.  The recipe below utilizes not only the season’s squash, but also many of the other inclusions of this week’s share:  onions, garlic, carrot, eggplant, pepper and oregano.  Many of us most likely still have a zucchini and tomato or two rolling around the kitchen

Moroccan Butternut Stew
From Grant Family Farms

1/3 cup olive oil
2 diced onions
2 minced garlic cloves
1 tbsp ground cumin
1tbsp turmeric
1 tbsp cayenne
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tbsp paprika
2 sliced carrots
1 cubed butternut
1 cubed eggplant
1 sliced green pepper
3 sliced zucchini
2 chopped tomatoes
1 1/2 cups cooked garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
pinch saffron
1/2 cup raisins or currants
fresh oregano (for garnish)

In a stew pot, heat olive oil and sauté diced onions, minced garlic cloves, ground cumin, turmeric, cayenne,cinnamon and tablespoon paprika. Add, in order, after each ingredient has begun to soften -carrots, butternut, eggplant, green pepper, zucchini and tomatoes. Stir garbanzo beans, saffron and currants/raisins. Simmer until all veggies are tender. If dry, add stock or tomato juice. Garnish with fresh oregano. Serves 4

The recipe calls for butternut, but any Winter squash can be substituted.  For the more delicate palette, the spiciness of this recipe is easily calmed by lessening the cayenne, substituting with a less hot spice or simply removing it completely.