Spicy Coconut Pumpkin Soup

Nowadays, I am in-love with anything that has coconut in it. Perhaps because I do miss my lovely island of Marinduque where we are surrounded by towering coconut trees. I have so many lovely memories of my childhood that involves this amazing tree and of course, it's delicious fruit. My parents own some piece of land in the barrio (small village in the outskirts of our town). Most of the land is devoted to rice fields but the mountainous areas are all covered with coconut trees. My parents have tenants who stay in the land either for free or for a very low rent and in return cultivate the rice crops among other things. Occasionally, we visited and to see how things were going, if the harvest would be plentiful as the rice that we ate then really came from these fields (well, when I was young I really didn't care for that but my parents did, of course.) For me, I was more concerned if we would either be able to ride the carabao (our beast of burden and really the farmer's best friend in the Philippines) during the visit and if they would be willing to give us some fresh coconuts straight from the tree. 

Sauteed Butternut Squash with Ground Beef/Pork (Ginisang Kalabasa)

When I was still in the Philippines and living with my family, this dish was on our table every week. We truly love squash in the Philippines and this particular dish can be found in any cafeteria or canteen all over the country. It's a favorite for lunch or dinner! It's also pretty cheap to prepare yet quite nutritious.

I am glad that I am not the only one who enjoys this dish. My husband who I thought would not enjoy this Filipino dish at all absolutely love this! My kids, especially William, love to eat this too.

Often butternut squash is considered more as a dessert ingredient or a side dish usually spiced with cinnamon and sweetened with syrup or brown sugar. However, butternut squash is actually a wonderful accompaniment to meat especially with pork or beef. It's natural sweet flavor complements the meat and marries well with seasonings such as soy sauce or fish sauce. The squash provides some sweetness to an otherwise very savory dish.

I use my Giniling Recipe (Ground Pork Sauté), a basic foundational recipe for a lot of Filipino dishes, for this one. Once you have made it, all you need to do is add the prepared squash and then cook it until tender. A very simple yet truly flavorful dish.


Ingredients

1 butternut squash (peeled, seeded and cut into inch-long chunks)

1 Recipe for Giniling (Ground Pork Sauté). Link here.

Procedure

If you plan to use the entire butternut squash, then I suggest using the entire recipe for Ground Pork Sauté. But if you plan to use only half of it, then half the Ground Pork Sauté should be enough. Adjust the amount of the ground pork recipe to how much butternut squash you wish to use.

To the cooked Ground Pork Sauté, add the butternut squash. Cook by simmering until the squash is tender about 10-15 minutes.

Another vegetable that complements squash is green beans or Asian long beans. If you wish to make this combo - cut the beans to about 2 inches in length and then cook it with the squash. Cook until the beans are tender but not mushy. Alternatively, you can opt to just use the beans on its own. The beans are an excellent accompaniment to the Ground Pork Sauté too!

Enjoy with steaming hot rice!

This is featured at Wednesday Extravaganza. and Weekend Potluck.

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Pizza Calabaza (Roasted Butternut Squash Pizza)

If you ask me what my favorite vegetable is ---- squash is my one and only answer! Much like in Africa, where squash reign supreme, in the Philippines you'll often find cooked kalabasa/calabaza on any given day at any family's table. Sauteed pork with squash would be a cafeteria favorite and, in our house, we have this at least once a week. Sometimes, when we feel like it, we add some coconut milk and some chili peppers to the mix and you have the best viand that's perfect for a hot bowl of rice.

But in this post, I give a different treatment to the humble squash. Instead of cooking it with meat and other veggies, I thought why not try it as a pizza topping? I love vegetarian pizzas so I thought I'd give it a try. I had to think of what would possibly complement the sweet butternut squash and the first thing that came into my mind was pesto. For the cheese, I used some mozarella and then added a few tablespoons of feta cheese since I had them on hand. If you don't have feta cheese don't despair, it's fine without it and since mozarella is quite expensive in the Philippines, am sure you can do a Greenwich style pizza and use cheddar cheese instead. Experiment and see what you can come up with!

My first attempt though wasn't a resounding success BUT only because I used the wrong pizza dough. I used a flavored (Italian) one and that made the dish a little too salty and spicy for our liking.

However,  I wasn't about to give up on this idea so I tried again with plain white pizza dough, and it was so much better. Really good! You taste the sweetness of the roasted butternut and then the saltiness of the pesto. Just a wonderful sweet-salty combo which my family enjoyed!

So, I do suggest just using plain pizza dough for this and yes, I used a store-bought one.    I don't have the energy nor the inclination to make my own. :-( Perhaps in the near future I will attempt but until then, am happy with what I have!

Ingredients

• 1 Pizza dough (homemade or store-bought, pref. plain/unflavored)
• 2 cups  butternut squash, peeled and cut into thin slices about 1 inch in length
• 1 Tbsp pesto
• 1 1/2 - 2 cups shredded mozarella cheese
• 1/4  cup crumbled Feta cheese (optional)
• Olive oil (1-2 Tbsp)

Procedure

Preheat oven to 350F. Place the butternut squash slices in a  baking tray. Toss with a little olive oil until coated. You may lightly season it with salt and pepper but that's entirely up to you. Roast the squash for about 12-15 minutes or until it is tender. Remove from oven and set aside.

Adjust the oven temperature as stated on the pizza manufacturer's instruction (usually between 400F-450F).

In the meantime, prepare the pizza dough by spreading the pesto all over it. 

Sprinkle the cheese/s on top leaving about a 1 inch border.

Top with the roasted butternut squash.

Cook according to the pizza manufacturer's instruction.

Enjoy with some salad on the side. Perfect for lunch or a light dinner.

This recipe is featured on Walking On Sunshine and Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party.

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