Continued from Turban Squash, Part 1
Enchanted with my pretty, ugly turban squash—and clueless about what to do with it—I set it out on a platter on my dining room table, ostensibly so I could savor its festive looks. (Read: procrastinate on launching Veggie Quest.)
While it sat there, though, I could feel it silently taunting me.
Cook me, it whispered. Blog me. You know you want to.
Finally, I caved and did some research. Apparently, turban squash is a winter squash, so classified because it has hard skin, is harvested late, and can keep into the winter. (Theoretically, anyway.) According to my handy copy of Food Lover’s Companion by Sharon Herbst, apparently someone somewhere decided that the knobs on the blossom end look turban-like, hence the squash’s name. (Whereas I think they look far more like huddled penguins, see Part 1. Am I right, or am I right?)
As it turns out, far and away the most popular thing to do with turban squash (so to speak) is to make it into soup. At first, I was unenthused about the idea, until I realized that the soup could be served right in the squash itself.
To me, there was something wonderfully efficient about a veggie that came with its own serving dish; something macabre, yet brilliant about roasting and gutting something, then popping it right back into its own unscathed shell.
I had to try it.
So I found a promising-looking recipe from the blog What’s Tasty at Sigona’s Farmers Market, adapted it to my tastes, and eagerly snatched up my squash, examining it to ensure it could endure the rigors of the process.
Curses!
Thanks to my procrastination—pardon, my lengthy period of squash-based seasonal decorating—almost half of the bottom of my beloved squash was covered in silvery mold.
I panicked—I had already lovingly photographed that squash; made big plans for it! But there was no way I could roast that moldy beast whole. So I hurried to the grocery store, terrified there’d been a run on turban squashes and I’d be back to square one. Luckily the fates smiled upon me, and I was rewarded with Turban Squash II.
Moral of the story: procrastination doesn’t pay.
Squash in hand, I was ready to cook. And cook I did. For a long, long time. (Did I mention it took awhile?)
So, I highly recommend this recipe for a lazy Sunday afternoon. Or make it ahead of time if company’s coming. The soup keeps well in the fridge for a day; as for storing the “tureen,” I haven’t tried it, so no promises there. For the adventurous, this could also be an amazing addition to a Thanksgiving spread. (Let me know how that goes!)
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Pure Awesome: Impress-Your-Friends Turban Squash Soup, Served in Its Own Tureen
Hands-on time: 1 hour Roasting time: 1½ – 2+ hours (find a good book!)
Ingredients
1 large turban squash (mine was 8-9” in diameter at the base)
4-5 cups vegetable stock or broth
2 Tbsp olive oil, plus 1-2 tsp to coat outside of squash
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp garlic powder
2 good grinds of fresh black pepper
pinch of salt (to taste)
fresh chives, chopped (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350oF.
Wash and dry squash. Cut top off squash (the penguins) as if making a jack-o-lantern. Scrape out seeds and strings and discard. Here’s what mine looked like once I was done:
Set the top aside; you won’t need it again until serving time. Rub the outside of the squash with 1-2 tsp olive oil. Place the oiled squash cut side down on a foil-lined baking sheet. Cover with foil.
Roast at 350oF for 1½ -2½ hours, or until squash flesh is tender. Since ovens and squashes vary, I recommend checking your squash for tenderness every 30 minutes after the first hour of roasting. This requires fearlessness and dexterity, since you’ll have to flip the (oiled) squash to do this. I recommend taking the whole thing out of the oven, then CAREFULLY grasping the squash with oven mitts or towels and flipping it over. (Yes, your mitts will get greasy. Can’t help you there.)
While the squash is cooking, sauté the chopped onion in 2 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat for 8 minutes or so, until onion is very tender but NOT browned. Remove from heat.
When squash flesh is tender, remove the squash from the oven, uncover it, and allow it to cool just enough so you can handle it. Turn the oven down to its warm setting.
Carefully—the squash will still be hot, and you don’t want to poke a hole in the shell—scoop the flesh of the squash into the pot with the onions. (I recommend measuring as you go. I ended up with about 4 cups of squash flesh—save any more than that for a rainy day.) When you’ve scraped out as much flesh as you safely can, put the squash back on the baking sheet facedown, cover with foil, and return to the warm oven.
Add stock, ginger, cinnamon, garlic powder and freshly ground pepper to the pot with the squash flesh and onions. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, stirring frequently, then turn heat down to med/low and simmer for 5 minutes, covered. Turn off heat and let cool briefly.
Puree soup in portions in a heat-safe blender. (Note: Do NOT fill blender more than half full—hot liquids, when blended, can blow the top off the blender! When I puree soup, I fill my blender about one-third full and use the pulse function; after every few pulses, I turn the blender off and carefully open the lid away from me to “burp” the blender. That said, I recommend following the soup-pureeing directions in your favorite cookbook, or using an immersion blender to puree right in the pot and avoid the whole problem.)
Return pureed soup to pot, add salt to taste, and bring to a simmer.
Remove squash “tureen” from oven, place on a platter, and fill with hot soup. (Mine held 6 cups, with room to spare.)
Place top back on squash if desired, and serve immediately. It looks pretty darned cool—soup disguised as a centerpiece:
Overall, this soup’s flavor is bright, clean, and delicately sweet with a hint of fall spice. For extra panache, pass around chopped chives. Divine!
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I'm Lee, an RD thriving on a healthy plant based diet.
Absolutely DELICIOUS!
Love the tureen idea! Good presentation makes anything taste even better!
… Love the tureen idea!! Looks cool!! This squash is on my list of new veggies too!! I'm @39 new veggies/plant-based products so far … !!
This looks so good. Wonder if it could be made fat free by roasting the squash cut side down in small amount of water instead of oiling it…..then saute onion in broth instead of oil? Worth a try. Thanks for the post.
You know, I bet it could be made fat free! You’ll have to let me know how it turns out if you try it.
Side note: You could also try sauteing the onion in a little white wine either alone or with vegetable broth to replace the oil. I’m guessing most of the alcohol would cook off, and it might add a layer of complexity to the flavor.