Winter squash/pumpkin and kimchi chickpeas
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This week, we are holding our breath. I will distract you with Halloween and pumpkins.
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This Halloween, our family commemorates a big anniversary - ten years away from Australia. Our final Halloween in Sydney was somber. By then, our house was already packed and the majority of our possessions were in a container headed to New York. With few materials left at my disposal, I fashioned a homemade costume for my daughter out of a polyester sheet I got from the dollar store, toilet paper and red paint. The gruesome outfit vaguely resembled a blood-thirsty crazed nurse. She hated the costume so much and, a decade on, the mention of it still sparks vitriol (including today when I shared the below photo on my Instagram stories). I have yet to be forgiven. Two days later, we boarded a plane, bound for Europe, where we spent some time, before eventually arriving in New York two months later. Each Halloween, I am reminded of those final surreal days before leaving Sydney, the end of a big chapter in our lives, and the start of a new one that is still being written.
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Autumn in New York is the season for pumpkins, or Winter squash, as they are called in the America. Time and location has not corrected my habit of calling all Winter squash pumpkins (as we do in Australia). Right now, we are at the point in the season when squash/pumpkins are still exciting. I love experimenting with the different varieties, with their distinct personalities. I roasted a couple of red kuri squash for salads last week - they are thin skinned and need no peeling, with rich, sweet flesh. This week, I have moved on to my favourite, honey nuts, a hybrid of butternut and buttercup squash, with flesh that is sweeter than all others, almost with caramel notes. There is still much to explore - koginuts, acorn, and kabocha still await.
It is easy to love pumpkins/squash, but how do we stop ourselves from getting bored of them? Like any relationship, we have to work on it. Pumpkin soup is reliable but basic. Adding pumpkin spice is welcome but predictable. I keep pumpkin/squash fresh by mixing it up, exploring new flavour combinations.
For me, while I relish the sweetness of squash, I think it’s better when tempered with enthusiastic savouriness and heat. In this week’s recipe, I’ve added kimchi, gochujang and nutritional yeast to balance and challenge the sweetness. I’ve cooked the pumpkin/squash the way my mum showed me, with a few cloves of crushed garlic, a splash of water, lid on, low heat. The cooking method is not only easy, but it also traps in all the flavors, and renders the flesh extra creamy, gently scented with the garlic which melts away into the pumpkin/squash.
The pumpkin/squash is tossed with chickpeas to create a hearty bean stew. It’s an earnest dish, rich with earthiness, and extremely comforting. Other legumes would work too so try cannellini or butterbeans. It’s adaptable too - the pumpkin/squash could easily have been thinned down with more stock/water and tossed with pasta (this was my original idea and I encourage you to try it). Also for those who are looking for a protein packed vegan dish, this is a great example.
Monday: Cheap and cheerful pasta, broccoli, feta and walnuts.
Tuesday: Crispy gnocchi with tomato and red onion (out of season tomatoes? Salt them first to bring out their natural sweetness)
Wednesday: Beet and lentil salad with cheddar (store bought beetroot is your friend here)
Thursday: Give yourself a night off with cheesy, shroomy mazesoba -
Friday: 5 star simplicity Cumin green beans with mushrooms
🥦 My cookbook, Tenderheart is for cooking vegetables, all year round. Pick up your copy here. It is also mostly vegan (or vegan-izable) and gluten-free adaptable.
Winter squash (pumpkin) and kimchi chickpeas
© Hetty Lui McKinnon for To Vegetables, With Love.
A note, this makes a pretty big portion which is by design because I love leftover pumpkin. This is what I did with leftovers: I blended it up (add a bit more water if has thickened up) and then heated it with grated cheddar cheese, added pasta and it turned into a pumpkin-y Mac and cheese. Big hit!
Serves 4 - 6
extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, smashed and peel removed
900g (2 pounds) winter squash / pumpkin such as honey nut or butternut, peeled, seeds removed and cut into 2-3 cm (1-inch) chunks
sea salt and black pepper
1 ½ cups vegetable stock
2 cans chickpeas, drained (about 500g cooked chickpeas)
1 cup vegan cabbage kimchi, roughly chopped (no need to drain)
1 to 2 tablespoons gochujang paste (to your liking)
½ cup nutritional paste (or grated cheese)
200g (7 ounces) vegan or dairy feta, crumbled, for serving (optional)
chopped coriander or parsley leaves, to serve
bread, for serving
Heat a large Dutch oven on medium high heat. When hot, add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and then the smashed garlic, and allow that to sizzle for 30-45 seconds until fragrant. Add the squash/pumpkin and season with ½ teaspoon of salt and lots of black pepper. Pour in ½ cup water. Cover, reduce heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes.
Uncover and stir the squash/pumpkin and garlic to break everything up. If it looks dry, add another 1/4 cup of water. Cover again and cook until the squash/pumpkin is completely tender, about 5 minutes. Uncover and stir again until it’s roughly mashed. Add the vegetable stock, chickpeas, kimchi and gochujang and stir to combine. Cover and simmer for another 5 minutes, to allow the flavors to meld.
Stir in the nutritional yeast (or cheese). Season with salt and black pepper.
Top with feta (if using), and herbs and eat as is as a stew or with bread on the side.
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Forgive me if this question is already answered, or is just so obvious it doesn't need stating, but is the winter squash halved? chopped? peeled? canned? frozen?
Fantastic ❤️