While Alicia's recipe calls for soybeans and shoyu, or a variation with azuki beans - Asian red beans that they use to make red bean paste - for a Japanese flavor base, I decided to do a Southwestern interpretation. I used a kabocha squash, carnival squash, and acorn squash for my three-squash stew, to combine a variety of different squash flavors with spices and hearty beans, creating a dish that warms you up these chilly November nights!
Ingredients:
3 squash (I used acorn, carnivale, and kabocha, but other winter squash will work)
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
3-4 tbsp. minced garlic
salt to taste
red pepper flakes to taste
1/4 cup cumin (approx.)
1/4 cup chili powder (approx.)
15-oz. can diced tomatoes
2 cans black beans
1/2 can kidney beans
chicken/vegetable stock on hand
tsp. cilantro
pinch dark brown sugar
grated cheddar cheese
Here's my method:
1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and cut squash into halves, laying them facedown on the baking pan and roasting them for an hour in the oven, or until soft and tender.
2) Scoop out the squash flesh with a spoon, carefully so as not to tear the skin, reserving the remaining shell for squash "cups" to serve in.
3) Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pot on medium-high heat and dice an onion - I used half a yellow onion and half a red - adding to oil and stirring until translucent. Throw in a few tablespoons of minced garlic, a pinch of salt and dash of crushed red pepper flakes.
4) Add cumin and chili powder - *note I used at least 1/4 cup of each to start and added more as the stew came along, because I'm a spicy girl, but if you can't take the heat, go moderately here!
5) Pour in a can of diced tomatoes, stirring to combine, along with two cans of black beans and half a can of kidney beans. I had originally planned to use just black beans for their smaller shape (and because I thought the flavors of a rich black bean soup would pair nicely with squash) but in her blog The Kind Life Alicia mentioned that she tried her recipe with kidney beans so I thought adding some of these sweeter red beans would add another flavor dimension. If you want this stew to be soupier rather than like a vegetarian chili, don't drain off all the liquid and you can even add chicken or vegetable stock to the beans and tomatoes to make it wetter.
6) Add the pieces of squash to the stew and stir into bean-tomato-onion mixture. I found that the softer pieces of squash broke down and melded into the sauce while I left some of the larger chunks still intact (as Alicia's recipe pictured) to have sweet squash nuggets among the spicy base. Season to taste (I added dried cilantro and more hot chili flakes, as well as a pinch of brown sugar to balance the heat) and simmer on low until your desired consistency - this depends on preference, whether you want it soupier or chunkier - and let the flavors meld.
7) Scoop stew into hollowed squash skin shells and top with grated cheddar cheese, heating under broiler a few minutes before serving.
This meal really hit the spot after this cold and rainy weather we've been having, as the spicy hot stew clears out the sinuses and warms the belly. It's also jam-packed with fiber, from two kinds of beans and three kinds of squash - you get the protein and nutrients, and it fills you up! This was my first time cooking with kabocha squash and I absolutely love it, as the sweet orange flesh has the flavor of a soft sweet potato or even slow-cooked carrot - it's seriously addictive. Combining this with the yellower, woodier winter squash varieties made a great flavor fusion in the pot, the different tastes mingling to create a really wonderful result. Not to mention serving it up in the little squash cups is such a festive fall presentation!
