Cushaw Squash Thanksgiving Soup

Way back in September I set my sights on a new (to me) and glorious looking specimen of the heirloom food kingdom - the Cushaw Squash. On impulse, I immediately ordered myself one of these crooknecked, small dog-sized cucurbits from our local online market. I brought it home and set it on the table. It made a nice fall-themed centerpiece for a few days, but was eventually retired to the root vegetable basket we keep in the corner of the kitchen.

Here it sat for a number of weeks, occasionally grazed by my hand as I reached past it to grab a couple of sweet potatoes or a purple onion. I admired the thick skin, with it's unique pale green and white stripes, which appeared as though they had been hand-drawn with a colored pencil. I mulled over its possible uses in my mind. Would it last until Thanksgiving? The answer was yes. And probably long afterwards, too.

So, Thanksgiving Eve found me spilling over potential recipes online. A simple, squash soup recipe seemed the way to go (because really, who brings soup to a Thanksgiving dinner? That would be me). Thanksgiving morning arrived, and after pulling out the ingredients called for, and adding a few of my own, I was ready to go.

Cushaw Squash Soup

• 
  1 large cushaw squash
• 2 large carrots, grated
• 1 large turnip (I used purple-top), grated
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 large leek , chopped
  
• 1/2 stick of butter
• 6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups chicken broth
• a few sprigs of fresh oregano
• sea salt and pepper, to taste

I began by poking some holes in the squash with a fork, placing it on a cookie sheet, and putting it in the oven at 400 degrees F for about one hour, rotating every 15 minutes to help it cook more evenly. This softened it up enough so it was easy to scoop out the seeds, remove the skin, and cube the flesh.

While the squash cooked, I prepared my other ingredients; chopping onions, garlic, and leeks, and grating the carrots and turnips. I set these aside, took the squash out of the oven (with potholders!) and cut it in half lengthwise.

While the squash cooled a bit, I melted about 1/4 stick of butter in a large pot (such as a dutch oven) at medium heat, and added my onions and leeks. I allowed these to caramelize, stirring frequently to prevent burning (about 20 mins).

Towards the end, I added the remaining butter, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. I let it cook for about 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally, and then added the grated vegetables and olive oil. After giving it a couple good turns to get the ingredients mixed, I let it all cook another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While the veggies cooked, I took the now not-quite-so-hot squash, scooped out the seeds, removed the skin and chopped it into small chunks/cubes.

This I added to the pot, and poured in about 2 cups of chicken broth. Unfortunately, at this point I was running late and desperately needed to jump in the shower, so to avoid burning the food I turned it down to 'simmer'.

However, as it had not yet reached a high enough temperature it never did manage to simmer properly, and by the time I got done showering and returned to check on it, it wasn't much farther along than before. So, with about 20 minutes left until I had to leave, I turned up the heat again and - however prematurely - began ladling the soup into a food processor, and pureed it until smooth.

So, I multi-tasked by cooking and pureeing simultaneously (I do not recommend this - instead, just give yourself enough time (and heat) to let the chunks of squash get tender first before pureeing).

Needless to say, after waiting for the soup to be fully cooked, brushing my teeth, trying on about 5 different shirts, and then not being able to find a lid for the container I wanted to transport the soup in, I did finally make it to my mom's house for Thanksgiving dinner (a cool 30 minutes late, but with delicious soup in tow!). Of course, after tasting it I was very thankful to the farmer that decided to grow this Slow Food 'Ark of Taste' variety of hearty winter squash. (As I forgot to get a 'final' shot...the picture above shows all that was left after we ate). This is a pretty thick soup, and tastes great hot or cold, with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon. If you happen to have pine nuts available, these make a delicious garnish, as well. Happy Thanksgiving!