Studio 5 Gardening Contributor Darin Engh shows off some of his favorite winter squash and what to do with them.
Hues of brilliant orange, deep green, tawny brown, and dusky blue complement almost any tableau, and unlike any ornamental – and inedible – gourds, these winter squash taste as good as they look. Pumpkins are favorites for décor and eating, but other types of winter squash offer the same burst of color and more diverse range of shapes and flavors.
The knobbly, blue-green skinned ‘Marina di Chioggia’ aka Zucca Barucca looks like a geode when cut in cross-section. Its rich, sweet flesh is great for minestrone and risotto as well as ravioli. Delicious in pies or baked.
‘Galeux d’Eysines’ is a large, round fruit with pale salmon-colored skin and a smattering of tan bumps; peanut shell-like warts, caused by sugar in the skin. Its sweet potato-flavored flesh purees well, making it the perfects choice for soups and is also delicious when simply sautéed in butter. When cooked, its sweet orange flesh is as smooth as velvet.
The baking squash ‘Red Warty Thing’ has smooth, dense, delicious sweet flesh with a subtle nutty flavor. These orange teardrop-shaped fruits keep long into the winter and pair well with pumpkins.
You can find these squash and others at Engh Gardens in Sandy. You can find them online at www.enghgardens.com.
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