Squash and Sweet Potato Recipes

[jesvetmed]

Snap: That looks yummy!

My favorite use for sweet potatoes (yams) is to use them mixed with regular potatoes for Chipotle mashed potatoes...

3 regular potatoes, 3 sweet potatoes. Boil till fork tender (I cut them into small pieces to speed this up). (Play with the ratio of reg:sweet as you like)

Add 1 (or more if you love heat) chopped canned Chipotle Peppers in Adobe sauce, and use some of the sauce, also.

Mash as usual with milk, butter and S&P.

I like to serve it with a spiced BBQ meat like chicken. NUMMY!

[badger]

I quite like to just bake the sweet potato (the white skin, not yams, they're too gooey) as is in the toaster oven. When they're sweet, they are SO sweet, but lately I've been getting the duds where they are pretty tasteless. When they're like that after roasting, I'll just fry them like hashbrowns for breakfast.

With acorn squash, I half them and bake them in a shallow dish with some water. I'll sprinkle brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and cover until soft. YUMMM!!

Kabocha squash is really nice as soup. Just cut in cubes and boil and put soup cubes or use stock. I also like to throw in thai red curry paste (no coconut milk, though I imagine if you like it it'll be quite nice in the soup) for a bit of kick.

[GLC1968]

I take sweet potatoes, cut them into cubes (sometimes with skin, sometimes without), toss them with a little olive oil, minced garlic, crushed rosemary, sea salt and fresh ground pepper and then roast them at 375 to 400F until done. Timing depends on how small I cut the cubes and it takes a little longer with the skin on (anywhere from 25 - 45 minutes). Just stir/flip them once after about 10-15 minutes to keep them from sticking and from burning on one side.

YUM!

And I actually just found a recipe that I cut years ago from a super old Williams-Sonoma catalog (like more than 15 years ago!). It is for a Winter Squash and Portobello Penne dish that I never got around to making. We'll be making it tonight so if it turns out, I'll post it. It's appropriate that I should find it now because we have one butternut squash from our garden this year (not a good crop for us!) and a bunch of portobellos that are ready to harvest!

[OakLeaf]

Oh oh oh I didn't know you grew mushrooms! Did you buy a kit, or do portobellos grow wild there?

[GLC1968]

Oh oh oh I didn't know you grew mushrooms! Did you buy a kit, or do portobellos grow wild there?

Oh, no - totally a kit. They are growing in our basement, actually!

We do get wild chanterelles and morels here, but not portobellos.

We also have a box of button mushrooms growing like mad in our basement too. Those will be sauteed with home-grown onions to be served on steaks for tomorrow's dinner.

[OakLeaf]

How hard are they to grow? Can you keep a mycelium going indefinitely and/or re-seed your medium with spores from a mature mushroom? Is contamination with ambient molds an issue?

I keep eyeing those kits.

... maybe we should drift this right over into the gardening thread ...

[RolliePollie]

Sweet Potato Latkes!!!

OMG, these are so incredibly delicious! And I don't even like sweet potatoes much.

I just grate a sweet potato or two, grate some onion, mix in a beaten egg, salt & pepper to taste, then add a little flour til it's the right consistency. Saute (ok, fry) them up and you're good to go. If you actually have a recipe for potato pancakes, just substitute sweet potato for the regular potato.

[badger]

I recently found out that crimini mushrooms (the brown button) are in fact just baby portobella. I love experimenting with them. I've made shepard's pie like casserole mixed in with red split lentils and also a stew of them cut finely with red wine and onions over a bed of mashed potatoes.

I remember my parents growing shiitake mushrooms on the dark side of the house where the sun never shone. I'd love to be able to find a kit to grow mushrooms, my place is certainly damp enough!

[GLC1968]

You know, Oakleaf, I don't know. The mushrooms are my husband's project but I'll ask him tonight.

[TryToKeepUp]

I found a recipe for an "acorn squash". I believe they are in season now as I found them in my local grocery store.

All you do is cut the squash in half, place them face down in a plate of water and pop in the microwave for 10 minutes. Then in a pot mix some mixed dried fruit and dry white wine over medium heat. After the squash is done you pour the dried fruit mixture into the center of the squashes and it is delicious!

[hoffsquared]

I made these this weekend.

Sweet Potato Maple Syrup Muffins

1 Sweet potato
1 1/2 c Unbleached all-purpose flour
1 pn Salt
2 ts Baking powder
1 ts Baking soda
1 ts Ground allspice
1/8 ts Ground cloves
6 tb (3/4 stick) sweet butter, at
2/3 c Dark brown sugar, packed
2 Eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 c Milk
3/4 c Maple syrup

PREPARATION
Bring a saucepan of water to a boil, add the sweet potato, and simmer until tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain the potato and allow it to cool slightly; then peel and cut it into several pieces. Puree potato in a food processor until smooth; you should have 1/2 cup. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350F. Generously butter two 8-cup muffin tins, or line with paper liners. In large bowl, sift together dry ingredients. In another bowl, cream butter and brown sugar together. Add eggs and beat well. Then stir in remaining ingredients; mix thoroughly. Make a well in center of dry ingredients; pour potato mixture into it. Stir until ingredients are incorporated--do not overmix. Fill cups about 2/3 full with batter; bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer muffins to wire rack and allow to cool.

16 muffins from The New Basics Cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins.

[bluebug32]

This recipe was in Bicycling last month and it is YUMMY! Even the meat eaters couldn't get enough of this one. If you like chipotles, they are a good substitution for the chili peppers.

Butternut Squash Enchiladas
2 large butternut squash
2 tablespoons cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon ancho chili powder
2 tablespoons diced roasted chili peppers
1 tablespoon green onion, sliced
1 tablespoon cilantro
Pinch of salt
Four 6-inch corn tortillas
1 cup enchilada sauce
1/2 cup shredded
Monterey Jack cheese

Halve the squash lengthwise and remove seeds. Bake at 350 degrees until soft, about one hour. Cool. Scrape out the flesh and drain in a colander, using a few plates on top to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. In a bowl, mix squash with cream cheese, cumin, chili powder, roasted chili peppers, green onion, cilantro and salt. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. Scoop the filling onto the tortillas and roll them up. Place them seam-side down on an oiled pan. Cover with enchilada sauce and top with cheese. Make sure the tortillas are completely covered with sauce so they don't dry out. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees until the cheese melts and turns brown and the filling is hot, approximately 15 to 20 minutes. Serves four.

Calories per serving 276
Fat 8 grams
Carbs 48g
Protein 7g