Squash Dish

By J-B Rustic Farm, Feb 8, 2017

This is a delicious recipe for squash or pumpkin, known as “pompions” to English people in the 17th century (as were all squash) it is inspired by one of the earliest written recipes from New England, from a book written by John Josselyn, a traveler to New England in the 1600’s (John Josselyn, Two Voyages to New England) John Josselyn called this recipe a “standing dish” suggesting that this sort of pumpkin dish was eaten every day or even at every meal.

Prep Time: 1 hour minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

4 cups cooked (baking directions are in instructions) squash, roughly mashed
3 tablesopons butter
2 to 3 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 or 2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

To bake squash lightly coat the squash with olive oil. Bake in the oven on a cookie sheet until tender, approximately 45 minutes to an hour. Cool. Cut open and scoop out the flesh

In a saucepan over medium heat, stir and heat all the ingredients together. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Serve hot

Click here for PDF of this Recipe

Nutrition in yellow or orange vegetables...

Yellow and orange pigment, called carotenoids, are found in carrots, corn, winter squash, rutabaga, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and red peppers. These pigments are very stable They are little affected by acids or alkalis. Long cooking can dull the color, however, Short cooking only prevents dulling of the color but also preserves vitamins and flavors.

Several varieties of squash...

There are several varieties of squash. I have used different kind in baking but butternut is probably my favorite. The one in the picture is called Autumn crown on Harrisville seeds but the one we cooked with at the Fort looks very similar and is called Long Island Cheese Squash because it looked like a wheel of cheese.

Importance of squash in the diet of early settlers of West Virginia...

While working at Pricketts Fort I spent a great deal of time cooking on the fire as the settlers would have in the 1700's. Squash was used in cooking a great deal because a squash if stored correctly will keep all winter and this was one of the greatest challenges for the settlers. Meat was very plentiful but the key to surviving was also having vegetables. Root vegetables, pumpkin, squash and dried plants such as fodder beans (dried beans called leather britches) were treasured, guarded and cared for. This is from the book written by Joseph Doddridge about the early 1700 settlers of Western Virginia and Pennsylvania. (Notes on the Settlement and Indian Wars) … “Every family, besides a little garden for the few vegetables which they cultivated, had another small enclosure containing from half an acre to an acre, which they called a truck patch, in which they raised corn for roasting ears, pumpkins, squashes, beans and potatoes….”

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