Burnpile Red Kuri, Kabocha and Poblano Puree

Having property in the country means there will always be a long list of chores, including constantly clearing brush to minimize fire danger.  In 2008 the Telegraph Fire engulfed over 34,000 acres, came within a stone's throw of our property on 2 sides, and destroyed many of our neighbor's homes.  The Rim Fire in 2013 was visible from our land and burned over 250,000 acres.  In this part of the woods, we take fire very seriously, and therefore, I have developed several recipes for cooking in the winter burn pile, which can be tended as the brush is burned.

Foil-wrapped gourds roasting in the coals

Today's recipe turned is one of my favorites.  Made with Red Kuri and Kabocha winter squashes and Poblano Peppers which were roasted in the burnpile, this sweet, smoky, and spicy puree was a great side dish to accompany pan-fried sole with capers and lemon, also made over the camp fire.  Any type of winter squash will work, including pumpkin, butternut, and acorn.  Red Kuri is a little harder to find but i s loaded with vitamins and has a creamy, very sweet flavor.
To roast the squash and peppers, I wrapped them in heavy duty foil and placed them on the edge of the coals.  The peppers cooked fairly quickly but the squash took longer, about 45 minutes. I turned it every 15 minutes to ensure even cooking.  Some parts of the skin will blacken but this just adds smoky flavor to the pulp.  The trick is to ensure that the vegetables don't dry out - you want the flesh to be moist so it can be pureed to the consistency of mashed potatoes.

I used a hoe to turn the gourds occasionally as they cooked. Once I removed them, I let them sit for a while as I tended to other chores.  This helped them to cool down and made them easier to handle once I started cooking.  After peeling open the foil, I pulled them apart and scraped out the seeds, reserving these for later use.  I then scraped the flesh into a medium saucepan.  It was so delicious and sweet!  I followed the same process with the poblano peppers.  With poblanos, you never quite know how intense their heat will be, so if you don't like too much spiciness, it would be better to use fewer peppers and add dried chipotle chili powder back in to achieve your desired level of heat.  I would rate this dish a 6-7 on the heat scale with the particular peppers I used.

Roasted poblanos and reserved seeds from the squashes

I added the rest of the ingredients from the recipe and pureed them with an immersion blender but you can also use a food processor, regular or high speed blender, or just mash everything by hand for a more chunky texture. The finished puree was drizzled with a must-have ingredient:  toasted squash seed oil.  Mine was a Delicata Squash Seed Oil which I'd ordered online.  You can omit this, because it is a specialty ingredient that is a little hard to find, but believe me, it puts this dish over the top, with its nutty, almost peanut buttery taste.  I would strongly recommend you try to obtain some if you want to get the full benefit of flavor.  I served the puree alongside some lemon and caper seared sole, and the miner's lettuce salad that I wrote about yesterday.  It was a delicious and healthy meal!

Puree of Roasted Poblano Peppers, Red Kuri Squash, and Kabocha Squash

makes 4 generous servings

1 Red Kuri squash

1 medium Kabocha squash

3 medium poblano peppers

1/2 cup vegetable broth (or more if needed)

4 tbsp butter or margarine

1/4 medium white onion

2 cloves garlic

1/2 to 1 tsp kosher salt

3 tbsp toasted Delicata squash seed oil

Prepare a fire with hardwood and burn down so you have a nice bed of coals (I used the oak and pine trimmings we had from clearing brush).  Wrap the gourds in two layers of heavy duty foil and place on the edges of the fire, turning every 10-15 minutes to ensure even cooking.  Test for doneness after 30-45 minutes by gently pressing on the packages in two or three places with a stick; if they give in easily they are ready. If you find any sides that are still firm, rotate those towards the fire and test again in 10-15 minutes. Carefully remove from the fire and let cool.

In the meantime, chop the onion into fine dice.  Melt the butter in a medium saucepan and add the onion. Rain 1/4 tsp of salt onto the onion and saute until translucent. Mince and add the garlic, cooking for about 2 minutes.  Turn off heat and set aside. 

Wrap the poblanos together in a single layer in a foil package.  When the squash has been cooking for about 35 minutes,  place the poblanos on the coals.  Cook for 5 minutes then turn over and continue cooking for an additional 5 minutes on the other side.   Remove from heat and let steam in the foil for 15 minutes.  Once cooled, pull off the stems and cut open the peppers to scrape out most of the seeds.  You can also remove any severely blackened skin, but it is not necessary to remove all the skin. Place the peppers in the saucepan with the onions.

Open the cooled squash packages and carefully split open the squashes, removing and reserving the seeds and stringy pulp.  You can save the seeds for another recipe, and discard the stringy pulp.  Using a spoon, gently scrape off the flesh into the saucepan with the onions.  Depending on the size of your squashes, you will end up with 3-4 cups of soft flesh.

Mash up the mixture then add the broth and the remaining salt. If the mixture is really thick, add additional broth and continue to stir until the mix is broken up and warmed through.  Using an immersion blender, or a regular blender or food processor, pulse the mixture until you get the consistency you desire. I left my mix a bit chunky, but a smooth puree would also be nice. Taste and add additional salt as needed. When serving, drizzle each individual serving with 1 - 2 teaspoons of the squash seed oil.