Recipes with Julie Van Rosendaal: Using up leftover pumpkin and other winter squashes

It's winter squash season, and along with all the pumpkins, there are plenty of other gnarly gourds out there to eat — hubbard, kabocha, buttercup, crookneck.

They're all worth bringing home for dinner, and this week on the Calgary Eyeopener, we talked about what you can make with them.

And, of course, carving pumpkins are inexpensive now, and though the bigger ones tend to be a bit more watery and stringy than the smaller sugar pumpkins, they're still totally edible. Carve them into pieces to roast, or poke a few holes in any winter squash and roast them whole, directly on the oven rack, while the oven is already on.

The bigger ones should take about an hour, and then it's easy to scoop out the flesh to add to soups, curries, pastas, salads, baked goods — whatever you like.

All winter squash vary slightly in taste and texture, but they're more or less interchangeable.

• Bookmark cbc.ca/juliesrecipes to keep up with all of Julie Van Rosendaal's dishes.

You can also roast the seeds of any winter squash for snacking, or to top your soup, salad or roasted vegetable dish.

Separate the seeds from the goop, rinse and pat dry with paper towel.

Spread out in a single layer, drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt (or any spices you like) and roast at about 400 F for 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the size of your seeds.

You could also do them in the air fryer, or shallow-fry them in canola or another neutral vegetable oil on the stovetop.

Tempura Acorn or Delicata Squash with Honey and Chilies

This was inspired by an amazing dish I had at the new Brassica restaurant in Gibsons, B.C.

Their tempura squash was made with rings of delicata, a winter squash with thin enough skin that you don't need to peel it.

It was sliced into rings and fried in a light, crispy batter, then served drizzled with honey and topped with candied jalapeños.

I happened to have a jar of candied jalapeños in my fridge, but you could candy your own, or use fresh or pickled jalapeños, or chili oil. I also fried the seeds to sprinkle overtop for added crunch.

Ingredients

• 2 acorn or delicata squashes
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• pinch baking soda
• pinch salt
• ¾ cup beer or soda water
• canola or other vegetable oil, for cooking
• salt
• honey, for drizzling
• candied, fresh or pickled jalapeños (optional)
• chili oil (optional)

Slice your squashes lengthwise into slices that are about ¼-inch thick. Clean the middles out into a bowl with your fingers, or cut them out with a paring knife or round biscuit cutter.

Separate the seeds from the stringy innards, rinse and pat them dry, if you'd like to cook them.

In a shallow dish, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Whisk in the beer or soda water. The batter should have the texture of heavy cream.

Set a heavy (enamel-coated cast iron is ideal) Dutch oven, deep pan or shallow pot over medium-high heat and heat an inch or two of oil until it bubbles around a scrap of bread or wooden spoon dipped in.

If you have a thermometer, it should read around 375 F.

Dip slices of squash into the batter to coat, then fry a few at a time for three to five minutes, turning with tongs as needed, until golden (don't crowd the pot, or it could cool down the oil).

Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate or baking sheet and sprinkle with salt right away, so it sticks.

When the squash rings are cooked, remove any batter bits from the oil with a slotted spoon and cook the seeds for about two minutes, or until golden.

Remove with a slotted spoon and sprinkle with salt.

Serve the squash right away, drizzled with honey and topped with jalapeños or chili oil and toasted seeds.

Serves: 4 to 6.

Winter Squash Veggie Chili

This is a great way to use any kind of winter squash — diced and added fresh, roasted in chunks or roasted whole, and the flesh scooped out and added to the pot.

Ingredients

• canola or olive oil, for cooking
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 yellow pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• ½ bunch cilantro (stems and all)
• 2 tbsp chili powder (or chipotle powder)
• 2 tsp cumin
• pinch cinnamon
• 2 19-oz (540 ml) cans beans, such as kidney, black, romano or chickpeas
• 2 19-oz (540 ml) cans diced or whole tomatoes, or one of each
• 1-2 cups cubed pumpkin or other winter squash — fresh, peeled and cubed, roasted (leftover is great) or baked whole and scooped out by the spoonful
• crumbled feta or sour cream, for serving (optional)

Set a Dutch oven or other wide pot over medium-high heat, add a generous drizzle of oil and sauté the onion, peppers and garlic for a few minutes, until soft.

Chop and add the cilantro stems and about half of the leaves (save the rest to put on top) along with the chili powder and cumin and cook for another few minutes.

Add the beans and tomatoes along with any diced fresh or roasted squash, or scoops of squash that has been roasted whole.

Season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer; cook for 30 to 45 minutes, until thickened (and if you added raw squash, it's tender).

If you like, continue to cook it over low heat until it's the texture you like, or cool it down and refrigerate overnight to let the flavours develop a bit. Otherwise, it's good to go.

Serve hot, topped with crumbled feta (or sour cream) and fresh cilantro.