Next: Corned Beef and Cabbage Recipe Up: Other Recipes
Next: Corned Beef and
Cabbage Recipe Up: Other Recipes
You won't be surprised to hear that this is a recipe that I made up. It's spicy, high in fiber and low in fat. The dish would be fine without the brown sugar, rendering it downright healthy. The result looks very pretty and makes a fine winter comfort food.
seeds from two squash
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) salt
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) shichimi pepper or cayenne
1 tablespoon (15 mL) olive oil
2 medium winter squash such as butternut, kabocha or acorn
1 pineapple
3 onions
1 large hunk ginger, perhaps 3" (7.5 cm) long
1 habanero pepper
1/2 cup (120 mL) brown sugar
1/2 cup (120 mL) olive oil
1 teaspoon (5 mL) each mace and nutmeg
2 teaspoons (10 mL) salt
Preheat the oven to 350. Whack the stem off each squash and cut it in half longitudinally. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and spread them evenly on a cookie sheet. Bake for about 30 minutes or until you hear the seeds popping. Slide the seeds into a bowl, add the other ingredients and stir. Eat.
Peel the squash carefully, as even long-duration baking will not make the skin edible. Hack it into 1-inch (2.5 cm) cubes. Peel the pineapple and chop coarsely. Chop the onions. Peel the ginger and puree it into a blender with the habanero, oil and spices. Mix the squash, pineapple, onions and spices together and place them in the oven. Stir after 30 minutes and serve after one hour.
For years I employed the pineapple-peeling method recommended in the venerable Joy of Cooking. The method is slow and tends to result in either wasted pineapple or bits of peel on the fruit chunks. Juice leaks all over the cutting board as you wrestle with the slippery fruit.
Here's a better way: chop the top and bottom off the pineapple. Slice off one piece about an inch (2.5 cm) thick and place the rest of the fruit in a bowl to collect the dripping juices. Place the circular slice flat on the cutting board with the larger diameter side up. Use a paring knife to cut around the edge of the slice between the skin and the fruit. Throw the skin away and chop the slice, placing the pieces in the bowl. Repeat until the whole fruit is chopped.
