Vegan Cooking with Beverly Lynn Bennett

Beverly Lynn Bennett is a vegan chef who recently completed her first electronic vegan cookbook, Eat Your Veggies. She's been working in the restaurant industry since she was 12. Please visit VeganChef.com to get some great vegan recipes and to learn more about her.

Question:

We recently discovered that we have grown Kobacha squash instead of the intended Butternut. As we have not encountered Kobacha before, would you please give us some ideas as to how to cook and serve this squash? Can it be baked?

Answer:

I hope that I can answer your question. I am familiar with a type of squash called "Kabocha" which is a dull green color outside and vibrant orange on the inside. Maybe "Kobacha" is the same type of squash with a slightly different spelling? Assuming that that's the case:

For the most part, winter squashes can be cooked by steaming, sauteing, braising, grilling, boiling, or roasting whole or in pieces. Squashes are so versatile; they will take to strong spices and savory herbs, as well as simple sweeteners. You mentioned baking in your question, you have many options here. The easiest is to leave them whole, pierce them with a fork in a few places, and bake for an hour or more, or until tender.

I prefer to peel, de-seed, and cut into cubes most winter squashes. Then simply toss them with a little olive oil, whatever seasonings I'm in the mood for, and place them on a non-stick cookie sheet. Roast them at 375 for 40-50 minutes, stir them a few times during the cooking time, until the cubes are tender. The cubes can be served as is or pureed and flavored as desired. Feel free to experiment with any of your favorite squash recipes by substituting what you have available, you may come up with a great recipe. Good luck.

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