HARD VEGETABLE SEASON
ROASTED BUTTERNUT SALAD + PUMPKIN RICE DELUXE!
The hardest part of the holiday season is the vegetables. It’s not the weather, travel, or entertaining, but the impenetrable skin of acorn squash and the unyielding flesh of beet and celery root. I talk a lot about making cooking fun, but hacking a pumpkin into bite-size pieces can only get slightly less annoying. For the simplest pain reduction, I can prescribe a straightforward solution: sharpen your knife.
If you don’t have a whetstone or professional sharpener at home, seek out a knife purveyor; they tend to offer sharpening services or can point you in the right direction. Alternatively, go corporate and let Williams-Sonoma sharpen your knives. It’s wrong to stereotype, but my personal experience with folks who sharpen knives has always been exceptional, and the transaction usually includes an “I’ll sort you out.” My favorite hopeful promise, as told to me by massage therapists, my dry cleaner, and the guy at the donut shop.
With an expertly honed blade, you can cook my two new festive recipes with confidence and ease: roasted butternut squash salad with spicy scallion dressing and pumpkin rice deluxe. Many squash and pumpkin recipes use candying or glazing techniques to augment their natural sweetness, but these two recipes tilt in the opposite direction, with savory flavors like celery, leeks, jalapeños, and cilantro. If you are not a dessert person or don’t like cake — I identify as neither and struggle to understand these affiliations — you may find both recipes quite appealing in contrast to, say, a sweet potato casserole.
Whether or not you like the sweet flesh of hard vegetables is not their fault. The sweetness comes from a defense against the cold, turning starches into sugar as the weather drops. I prefer to shrivel and bitter as temperatures descend. Below are free links for both recipes on NYTCooking. Please do let me know if they make it onto your dinner table!
WHAT WE’RE LEARNING
You don’t have to peel butternut squash if you don’t want to!
This fact flared some discussion in the comments section of the butternut salad. For me, the choice to peel butternut squash is undoubtedly a combination of preference, waste consciousness, and lethargy. In other words, it’s easier, totally edible, and tastes good.
Please be careful with your knife!
Statistically speaking, it’s easier to injure yourself with a dull knife than a sharp one, but that doesn’t make sharp knives innocent. Exercise caution as you wield your sharp blade as it will move faster through the things you’re accustomed to cutting, and those you are not (your fingers).
WHAT WE’RE MAKING
Roasted Butternut Squash Salad With Spicy Scallion Dressing
While the squash softens and its edges darken in a hot oven, two dressings are prepared: The first, a quick simmer of ginger, fennel seeds and vinegar, adds a bright, pickled flavor. The second, built off a couple spoonfuls of the first, adds heat and freshness from a trio of jalapeño, cilantro and scallions. Any winter squash can be used in place of butternut squash, and the herbs are flexible as well. The salad improves as it sits and can be served at room temperature, making it a great candidate for holiday entertaining.
This festive rice pilaf can be eaten on its own as a lighter meal or can steal the spotlight as a side dish on any dinner table. Grated pumpkin and turmeric impart sweetness and a soft orange glow, while buttery leeks firmly ground the dish on the savory side of things. Scallions, peanuts and crunchy celery round out the dish with texture and freshness. Don’t skip washing the rice, as any excess starch can impact the final texture of the individual grains — with care, they will be soft and fluffy.
Thank you so much for reading! It’s so nice to be back. If you’ve got any questions on holiday cooking or cooking in general, just reply to this email, and I’ll do my best to address it!
Love, Ash