A lot has been written about our industrialized food system, why it needs to be changed, and the damages caused by it. The related environmental and health issues have been exposed repeatedly. But, a new book I just read also highlighted the cultural effects of the current food system. In Decolonize Your Diet by Luz Calvo and Catriona Rueda Esquibel, they describe how “the production of food in the early twenty-first century is wholly alienated not only from the way we live…but from our own cultural histories and traditional food ways.” Their book, of which I received a review copy, encourages a look back at traditional ingredients and ways of preparing meals from Mexican and Central American cuisine. It also focuses on very healthful, plant-based dishes using unrefined, unprocessed ingredients. I couldn’t wait to try a few recipes. The Vampiro Beet and Carrot Salad sounds fresh and pretty with grated vegetables, orange and lime juices, and jalapeno. The Purepecha Bean Soup is made with Flor de Mayo or pinto beans and dried chiles and is topped with crispy corn tortilla strips and diced avocado. As soon as red cabbage shows up in our CSA box, I’ll be making the Sweet Potato Tacos with Red Cabbage Slaw. And, I really want to try making homemade Mesquite Corn Tortillas with a mix of masa and mesquite flour. But first, the Kabocha Squash in Pipian Verde dish was calling my name. I sauntered off to our Wednesday farmers’ market hoping to find some sort of small winter squash to use for this without worrying too much about it being a Kabocha. Despite my open-mindedness, I actually found the lovliest, red Kabocha ready and waiting for me that day. This dish was meant to be.
There are plenty of ways to start this in advance. Four poblano chiles were roasted, skinned, seeded, and chopped, and those could be prepped and refrigerated until ready to make the sauce. I roasted them directly on top of a burner and turned them as they charred. The squash was cut into wedges and roasted in the oven with a coating of olive oil and sprinkling of salt and pepper. This could be done in advance, and the squash wedges can be reheated when you’re ready to serve. The next step in making the sauce was to broil a quartered white onion, 10 tomatillos with husks removed, a few unpeeled garlic cloves, and I added a couple of serrano chiles. Next, a cup of raw, hulled pumpkin seeds were toasted in a dry pan on top of the stove. Those toasted pepitas along with two cups of water were then pulsed in a blender. Next, the roasted onion, the peeled garlic, the chopped poblanos, my additional serranos, and some oregano, cilantro, epazote, parsley, and a pinch of anise seeds were to be added to the blender. This was way too much for my blender, and I pureed all of this in two batches. Salt was added to taste, and then the purred sauce was transferred to a large saucepan and simmered for about 15 minutes. The simmering really brought the flavors together. To serve, the roasted squash wedges were set in a pool of sauce and garnished with cilantro leaves and more toasted pepitas.
This recipe made a lot of sauce which is a good thing. I’m happy to have some stored in the freezer to use on enchiladas someday soon. And, it was delightfully tangy, spicy, and, herby with the squash. I’d never paired squash with these flavors before, and I’m so glad to have been introduced to the idea. There are several more ideas in the book I’ll be trying too.
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