Taste of Fall

Squash and pumpkins are at the center of sweet and savory autumn dishes.

WRITTEN BY STACI PERRY MERGENTHAL PHOTOS BY CHRIS EMEOTT

THE CRISP MORNINGS and warm days of fall call for savory meals and sweet treats made with pumpkins and winter squash. From butterkin, acorn and delicata to sugar pie, fairytale and Galeux d’Eysines, even a seasoned baker can find a new variety to spice up a comforting dish for fall gatherings.

Follow our easy tips, bake a new treat and be adventurous when picking your pumpkins and squash this year.

Storing Pumpkin and Squash: Undamaged winter squash can last up to three months if stored properly. Here’s what to do:

• Wipe with water before storing. • Avoid freezing temperatures. • Store in single layers in a dry, aerated area. • If in a basement, place on a cardboard or wood board to protect it from the changing temperature of the concrete, which promotes decay. • Keep stems intact to protect from rotting. • For carved jack-o’-lanterns, spray lime juice on the cut areas. Or, after carving, dunk pumpkins into a bucket with a solution of three gallons of water plus three teaspoons of bleach (or spray the solution inside the pumpkin).

Preparing Pumpkin and Squash Elizabeth Kriel, promotions and digital specialist for Jerry’s Foods, shares a few of her favorite ways to eat butternut squash—plus a tip for peeling.

Peel: Poke holes in the squash with a fork. Cut off both ends. Microwave for 2–3 minutes. Let cool, and peel with a vegetable peeler or knife.

Eat: “I love cooking with butternut squash for many reasons,” says Kriel. “It’s versatile and can be roasted, steamed, sautéed, spiralized, mashed or blended into soup. And it’s filled with antioxidants, minerals, fiber and vitamins A and C—but its sweet, nutty flavor allows me to sneak it into my kids’ meals.”

Preserving Pumpkin and Squash: Freezing the flesh or puree is the safest and easiest method for preserving winter squash. The United States Department of Agriculture does not recommend canning mashed or pureed squash or pumpkin.

Make puree: Cut in half or fourths. Scrape out seeds and pulp with a spoon. Place squash/pumpkin pieces on a baking sheet. Roast at 350 F until fork tender, about 45 minutes. Remove skin. In small batches, place flesh in a food processor, and pulse into puree. Spoon 1-cup portions of puree into freezer bags or containers. Store in the freezer.

Straight from the Farm To learn more about winter squash, we caught up with farmers Peter and Carmen Marshall, the husband-and-wife team of Peter’s Pumpkins and Carmen’s Corn near Shakopee. (You can also find them at Centennial Lakes Farmers Market.) Operating since 1999, they grow produce on 60 acres, including 800 apple orchard trees.

We discovered that winter squash is even more versatile than we thought. “Except for spaghetti squash, jack-o’-lantern, jackbe-little and white Caspar pumpkins, you can interchange most squash and pumpkins for baking or cooking,” Peter says. Below, Peter and Carmen share customer favorites with us.

Hubbard Large, round, tapered. Hard shell can be dark green, orange or gray-blue. Rough skin. Sweet. Use for pies and savory dishes.

Spaghetti Small watermelon shape with yellow shell. Stringy strands of flesh. Use to make spaghetti in place of pasta.

Buttercup and Ambercup A green shell with gray stripes and orange shell, respectively. Sweet, creamy, dense.

Butternut Round seed cavity on the bottom, tapered neck and light brown shell. Sweet like a sweet potato.

Acorn Acorn shape with a green, white or orange shell. Nutty, sweet flavor. Slightly stringy. Excellent for stuffing and baking. Delicata Oblong cylinder shape with longitudinal green stripes. Very sweet. Perfect for pie.

Carnival Acorn shape with festive orange, green and yellow shell.

Sweet Dumpling Small, round and ivorycolored with dark green stripes. Very sweet. Great stuffed for individual meals.

Butterkin Light brown/orange and round. A cross between a butternut squash and a pumpkin. Smooth, sweet flesh. Good for making cakes, cookies and pies.

Galeux d’Eysines Round with a flat top and bottom. Salmon pink shell covered in knobby, peanutlike bumps.

Turks Turban Bulbous base with turbanlike cap. Multi-colored and striped shell in green, orange, red and yellow. Sweet, rich.

Fairytale Pumpkins Seemingly picked from Cinderella’s magical garden. Flat, round, squatty. Shell transforms from dark green to a beautiful light tan, mahogany hue. Light and sweet.

Long Island Cheese Round and flat on both sides, with light yelloworange shell. Tender, creamy, sweet.

Sugar Pie Small, round and orange. Sweet and nutty flesh, notorious for baking pumpkin pie.

Peter’s Pumpkins and Carmen’s Corn, 12860 Old Brick Yard Road, Shakopee; 952.906.0247; peterspumpkins.com Peter’s Pumpkins & Carmen’s Corn @peterspumpkins @PetersPumpkins

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Ready to cook with some of these autumnal favorites? Below we have an unexpected autumn pie recipe. But you can also head to edinamag.com for a few more recipes, both sweet and savory— including the Sheet Pan Autumn Chops pictured on page 43, another fall dessert and homemade dog treats.

Squash Pie Courtesy of Rosio Lopez, Carmen Marshall’s sister from Peru Makes 9-inch pie

Pastry for Single-Crust Pie: • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour • 1/4 tsp. sugar • pinch of salt • 9 Tbsp. butter • 1 cup ice-cold water

Filling: • 1 cup brown sugar • 1/2 tsp. salt • 1 tsp. ginger powder • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon • 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg • 1/8 tsp. ground cloves • 3 eggs • 2 cups squash puree (butternut or hubbard) • 1 1/4 cups evaporated milk or cream

Instructions: Heat oven to 400 F. Prepare pie crust by cutting butter into cubes, and return them to the refrigerator for 15 minutes so the cubes are very cold. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar and salt. Add butter in cubes, and work with a fork (do not use your hands), incorporating until you get crumbs about the size of a pea. Add 1/4 cup ice-cold water. Mix with a spatula to form a ball of dough. If necessary, add more cold water by tablespoons. Knead gently about 10 times, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours before using. Gently roll the dough around the rolling pin, and transfer it right-side up onto 9-inch pie pan. Unroll, easing dough into the bottom of the pie pan, and cook for 10–12 minutes, until lightly golden. In a large bowl, mix sugar, flour and spices. Stir. In another bowl mix eggs, squash puree and evaporated milk. Pour the liquids over the sugar mixture. Mix well. Fill the baked dough with the squash mixture. Bake for 45–50 minutes or until set.