Kabocha, Japanese pumpkin

Kabocha is the best squash, you guys, no contest. It’s easy to break down, you can eat the skin, it’s sweet, it’s chestnutty, it’s forgiving, just neutral enough to work with lots of different flavors but it’s flavorful enough to be a million times more interesting than butternut. It’s in season right now.

Cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, slice into “C” shapes. I’ve been roasting slices of kabocha squash as per Alison Roman’s recipe from last Thanksgiving (toss with olive oil, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, maple syrup and salt and black pepper —> 400degrees until soft enough). When it’s done, she squeezes lemon on top and adds chopped hazelnuts.

That’s great as is or on top of arugula salad with crispy bacon but another way Kabocha is delicious if you pop the roasted squash into the blender with some chicken broth and water to make a pureed soup. Another night I sauteed shallot, ginger, and curry powder together until aromatic and then blended the bejesus out of that with the leftover roasted squash. Heat up that puree on the stove, so good. And the final zjuzh came from an old Suzanne Goin soup garnish of candied pepitas spiced with more smoked paprika, cumin and cayenne. Culturally I feel like there’s a lot going on here between my South Indian curry powder, pimenton de la vera ahumado, and Costco maple syrup but I stand by the deliciousness.

Wine pairings for this cuckoo combination of flavors could be a light bodied unoaked fresh red actually my Grenache would work here or a rustic unoaked white wine. I’ve been drinking through the Sicilian white wine tasting lineup I had assembled before Covid because we are not reinstating tasting group any time soon … so I’ve got my work cut out for me. All of these have worked nicely together with my various iterations of curried Kabocha soup.

Red

2018 Jean-Marc Burgaud Beaujolais Villages Lantignie - I got this from Full Pull for less than $20. Seems like 2018 is a good year for the style of Beaujolais I like. Sorta wish I had bought more of this …

White

2018 Caravaglio “Infatata” Malvasia Secca di Tricoli - from a single vineyard on an Aeolian Island called Salina, organic, clean and fresh and minerally. p.s. remember this song?

2017 Benanti Etna Bianco “Contrada Cavaliere” - old vine Carricante grown at high elevation on the side of an active volcano, no oak

More recipe inspiration but sub Kabocha for whatever squash

https://www.davidlebovitz.com/roasted-pumpkin-recipe-potimarron-kuri-hokkaido-squash/

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2017/01/easy-stovetop-butternut-squash-soup-recipe.html

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2015/11/roasted-squash-kale-make-ahead-spiced-nut-cranberry-maple-recipe.html