Squash Chronicles: A Winter Stew That'll Win a Place in Your Regular Rotation

Whether you call them gourds, squash, or cucurbits—I'll never forget one of the nerdiest (and funniest) quotes from a seed breeders' conference I attended was from legendary seed breeder John Navazio who said, "Cucurbits were bottle-necked a long time ago."*—they are found in nearly every cuisine in the world and seem to have the chameleon-like ability to complement every one of their unique profiles.

From soups and main dishes to desserts and even sorbets, squash has come a long way from the days when pumpkin, butternut and acorn were the only squashes available at grocery stores. Dull in flavor and overbred, they were nothing like the plethora of varieties now available at local farmers' markets and co-ops and greengrocers, with names like Musquée de Provence, Black Futsu, Kuri and our own Pacific Northwest variety, Lower Salmon River.

One variety I'm particularly fond of when I need to whip up a quick dinner is delicata squash. There's no need to peel them—the skin is perfectly edible and the colorful dots and stripes on the rind add a pop of color in stir fries and stews—and they cook in less than a half hour, giving a wonderful, tender squash-y texture to the finished dish. I've made the recipe below twice now and it's earning its place in the regular rotation as a warming, spicy winter stew with local pasture-raised ground lamb.

Lamb and Delicata Winter Stew

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 lb. ground lamb
1 med. onion, chopped in 1/4" dice
3 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 Tbsp. masala mix (I'm loving Diaspora's Biryani Masala)
2 c. roasted tomatoes
2 medium delicata squash, seeded and chopped into 1/2" dice
1/2-1 c. stock or water
2 tsp. fish sauce (optional)
Salt to taste

Heat oil over medium-high heat in Dutch oven or deep skillet. When it shimmers, add ground lamb and sauté until browned, breaking up the lamb into small bits. Add onion and garlic and sauté until tender, then add masala mix and fry briefly. Add tomatoes and chopped delicata, adding stock or water if it seems too dry, but don't drown it…you don't want a soupy stew. Simmer for 20-30 minutes until squash is tender.

While stew simmers, bring water to boil. Add rice; when it comes to a boil, cover and move to a very low burner for 20 minutes or until there's no liquid remaining.

Serve in bowls, ladling stew over rice.

* "Cucurbitaceae is a plant family commonly known as melons, gourds or cucurbits and includes crops like cucumbers, squashes (including pumpkins), luffas, melons and watermelons. The family is predominantly distributed around the tropics, where those with edible fruits were amongst the earliest cultivated plants in both the Old and New Worlds." - Wikipedia