One of the best ways to prepare pumpkins and winter squashes, I'm convinced, is to cook them in what is called un tajine [tah-ZHEEN], a Moroccan specialty that's a spicy sauté or stew. In French it could be called un plat sucré-salé (sweet and savory) and it's seasoned with a blend of spices including nutmeg, cinnamon, turmeric, fenugreek, cumin, and hot red pepper, plus a tablespoon or two of sugar or honey.
Yesterday I made a chicken and winter squash tajine using onions, garlic, spices, raisins, and a sucrine du Berry squash. The sucrine resembles a butternut squash. Here's what it looks like on the outside and on the inside. Cooking with winter squashes and pumpkins is like bringing fall colors into the house.
One of the things I like about this recipe is that you cook the chicken with onions, garlic, raisins, and spices in one pot, and then you cook the squash, cut into cubes, in a separate pot or pan. That way, you can control the cooking time for each component so that both are just right before you combine everything and take it to the table. I'll post a recipe tomorrow.
This is second on my plate...
ReplyDeleteafter simple roast pumpkin, potato, carrots, parsnips, onions or shallots and finally whole, unpeeled garlic cloves!!
Shove in a pan, drizzle plenty of olive oil over, season to taste and bung int'oven until done.
Serve with greens and meat.
Third comes Pauline's pumpkin soup that has "Russel Hainault" in it as the main seasoning.
All autumnal dishes.... and on into winter....which arrived here last night with freezing fog at minus 1.5 Centipedes!!
The pumpkin/squash tajine would be good with veal, lamb, turkey, or rabbit. Not to mention pintade. Or duck.
DeleteOh, and the roasted winter vegetables you describe are really good alongside a roasted duckling or other bird, for sure.
DeleteWell, all of that made for a nice set of colorful photos, so I expect it all tasted yummy, too :)
ReplyDeleteI know already that I'm going to make it. Looking forward to the recipe.
ReplyDelete