Man, o man do I love butternut squash, acorn squash, spaghetti squash, delicata squash… you get the point.  When I was young, one of my favorite side dishes at family dinners was an acorn squash, halved, filled with butter and brown sugar, and roasted until soft and sweet.  It tasted like candy, but technically qualified as a vegetable – a loophole that I still enjoy exploiting.

During my recent, steamy love affair with my pressure cooker, I’ve discovered that it does fantastic things to squash.  For example, last week, Jethro served THE BEST butternut squash soup I’ve ever eaten – pressure cooked, of course.  There are two fundamental benefits to pressure cooking, as opposed to roasting, squash:

1. Speed.  Fork-tender squash takes 15-20 minutes in the pressure cooker, rather than 30-45 minutes in the oven.
2. All-Over Tan.  Put another way, the pressure cooker achieves deep, even browning on all surfaces, with a significantly reduced risk of burning.  Let’s explore that more…

One of the best tricks I’ve learned from Modernist Cuisine is that adding 0.5% baking soda (by weight) to things you’re about to pressure cook results in fantastic caramelization.  The baking soda increases the pH of the food, which allows the Maillard reaction to take place at the the relatively low-temperature environment of the pressure cooker – typical Maillard reactions start around 310F, but a pressure cooker operating at 15 psi only reaches about 250F.  That means that you get deliciously-sweet, browned squash without running the risk of accidentally scorching your squash.

Also, pressure cookers brown more evenly than ovens.  Think of your oven like a cheap tanning bed, with lights above and below the subject (in this case, food).  The top and bottom of the food is exposed to a lot of light and gets nicely tanned.  The sides, however, remain pasty-white because they’re mostly in shadow. The environment inside a pressure cooker, however, is more akin to bathing in a pool of self-tanner.  The heat and pressure generated by the steam come from all sides, and as a result, your cubes of squash are beautifully browned from every angle, not just the top and bottom.

If you’re ready to drink the Kool-Aid, here are some pressure cooked squash recipes to get you started.

Basic Pressure Cooked Squash Recipe

1. Remove the skin and seeds from your squash and cut into evenly-sized 1” cubes.
2. Add 1/2 cup of liquid to your pressure cooker.  I recommend centrifuged squash water (thanks Jethro!), chicken stock, or other flavorful liquid.  Water works fine, too.
3. Toss your cubed squash in .5% its own weight in baking soda.  You can eyeball this measurement – about 1/2 tsp. of baking soda for 2 lbs. of squash.  Add the squash to the pressure cooker.
4. Pressure cook for 20 minutes.  Remove and season to taste.

Pressure Cooked Squash Soup Recipe

1. Follow steps 1-3 above.  For extra richness, add butter or duck fat to the cooking liquid.
2. Check after 20 minutes.  Pressure cook an additional 10-20 minutes if the squash isn’t tender enough to fall apart yet (cooking time will vary by species).
3. Using an immersion blender, puree the squash until smooth, adding additional liquid to reach the desired consistency.
4. Season to taste with salt, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, roasted garlic, nutmeg, maple syrup, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, apple cider, tarragon, ginger, or whatever else suits your fancy.

Go wild with variations.  Add other stuff like apples or canned pumpkin or bell peppers or carrots or leeks.  I promise it’ll be good.

[BTW, the picture above is an acorn squash, uncooked.]

Makes: 8 zen bowls
Total kitchen time: about 6 hours, depending…

Shopping list:

• 8 cups duck consommé, prepared
• 4 russet potatoes, fat and round
• 1 tbsp. rendered duck fat
• 8 laser-cut nori designs of a Japanese maze

Special equipment: laser cutter, 2” biscuit cutter, vacuum sealing machine, sous vide heating immersion circulator

1. Slice the potatoes into 1” thick discs.  Using the discs that are at least 2” in diameter, cut out 8 rounds with the 2” biscuit cutter. 
2. Place the potato circles in a vacuum bag and add rendered duck fat.  Vacuum seal.
3. Cook potatoes in an 85C water bath for 1 hour. 
4. To serve, place a potato slice in the bottom of a large bowl.  Blot the top of the potato with a paper towel to dry the surface.  Add 1bout 1 cup of consommé to the bowl.  Top with a piece of nori.

If you don’t have access to a laser cutter (a travesty!) you can try cutting shapes using a very sharp hobby knife. 

Makes: 4 bowls
Total kitchen time: 30 minutes

Shopping list:

• 1 cup pancetta, finely diced (you can use bacon if you want, but make it good bacon)
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 5 cloves of garlic, smashed
• 1 small leek, diced
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups shitake mushrooms, sliced into 1/8” strips
• 1 package portobello mushroom ravioli (or any other ravioli that sounds good to you – lobster, pesto or spinach all work)
• finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, to garnish
• 1/4 cup shaved parmesan, to garnish
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Heat a large stockpot over medium heat.  Add the pancetta and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the pancetta has started leaving brown bits on the bottom of the pot. 
2. Add the onion, garlic and leek and continue to cook over medium heat for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the white wine to deglaze the pot – the acid in the wine will let the brown bits on the bottom become unstuck.  Scrape them up with a wooden spoon or spatula.
3. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Cover the pot and reduce the heat to a simmer.  Let simmer for at least 20 minutes, or up to 4 hours for maximum flavor.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. 
4. When you are about ready to serve, bring the soup to a boil and add the mushrooms.  Cook for 1 minute, then add the ravioli and cook according to the package directions, usually about 3 minutes.  Add the tomatoes.
5. To serve, ladle a generous serving of broth and a few ravioli into a bowl and top with a little parsley and parmesan cheese.

Makes: 6 guests go butter-nuts! (too corny?)
Total kitchen time: 1.5 hours

Shopping list:

• 2 small butternut squash, halved
• 5 cloves roasted garlic
• 1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. olive oil
• 1 pat butter
• 1/2 white onion, diced
• 2 cups chicken stock (hot)
• 2 cups heavy cream (warm)
• 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. grated ginger
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds for garnishing
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Preheat your oven to 375°F.  Place the squash, cut side down, in a large roasting pan.  Add about one inch of water to the pan.  Cover the pan with aluminum foil and roast the squash until they are very tender, about 1 hour. 
2. Once the squash has cooled, remove it from the skin and cut it into small cubes.  Heat the butter and 1 tbsp. olive oil in a large saucepan.  Add the onion and sweat over low heat until it is tender and transparent, about 10 minutes.  Add the roasted garlic and stir to combine.
   
3. Add the butternut squash and 1 cup each of chicken stock and heavy cream.  Using an immersion blender (or a food processor), blend until smooth. 
4. Continue adding the remaining stock and cream until you reach the desired consistency.  Add the cloves, nutmeg, ginger, salt and pepper.  Adjust the seasonings to taste. 

You and your guests will be very happy with this soup.  If you leave out most of the liquid, the same recipe makes a great filling for homemade ravioli. 

Makes: 2 cavemen disregard their insurance costs
Total kitchen time: 35 minutes

Shopping List:

• 1 large sweet onion (such as Vidalia)
• 32 oz beef broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 loaf fresh French bread
• 1/2 cup shredded Gruyère cheese
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Peel the onion and chop it into long, thin pieces.  Here’s how: cut the onion from pole to pole, through the root end.  To avoid looking dramatic and running your mascara, remove the gland at the root of the onion by cutting out a wedge.  This will abate all those tears, you sissy.  Now, lay the flat side of the onion on your cutting board so you have an onion hemisphere pointing up at you.  With the root end facing you, slice the onion in thin strips parallel with the poles.
2. Heat a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat.  Add the butter and sauté the onions until soft and golden, about 10 minutes.
3. Add the beef broth and bay leaf and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes or until the broth has reduced by about 25%.  This is also a good time to salt and pepper to taste.  Remember to blow on the soup, as it will be hot you idiot.
4. Meanwhile, cut the crust off of your french bread.  Then, cut the uncrusted loaf into large cubes, about 1″.  Feed the crusts to the rats living in your walls – one of them might secretly be a gourmet chef.
5. Toss the cubes in olive oil and lightly toast them.  I used my toaster oven on 350F for about 10 minutes, but you could do just as well in a warm skillet.  The key is to get the cubes just the slightest bit crunchy.  You don’t want croutons here, just firm bread.
6. When you’re ready to bowl up, turn on your broiler and set the top rack about 8″ beneath the heating element.  Ladle some soup into an oven-proof bowl and top with a few cubes of French bread.  Top the whole thing off with a generous drizzle of cheese and broil until the cheese is brown and bubbly, about 30 seconds.  Use oven mitts to remove the bowls.

Enjoy on a cold, civilized evening with a bottle of wine, dippin’ bread and the fossils of fallen Neanderthals.

Makes: 6 handsome bowlfuls
Total kitchen time: 30 mins

Shopping list:

• 1 lb uncooked shell-on medium shrimp
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 white onion, diced
• 1 leek, white and pale-green parts diced
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 5 oz can of tomato paste (the small cans, you’ll see ‘em)
• 1/4 cup Brandy
• 2 cups seafood stock (in a box, next to the chicken and beef stock)
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 pint heavy cream
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp red cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper
• 1 bunch flat leaf parsley, finely chopped (to garnish)

1. Shell and clean the shrimp, reserving shells in a bowl. Cut the shelled shrimp into 1/2″ pieces and set aside.
2. Heat the butter in a large stockpot until melted. Add the shrimp shells and cook over medium-high heat about 3 minutes. Remove the shells and discard them.
3. Add the onion and leek to the butter. Sweat over medium high heat until they start to turn golden. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Be sure not to overheat the pan or the butter may separate and burn.
4. Add the Brandy to deglaze the pan. Flambe (hold a lighter in the pan, with your head far away).
5. Add the tomato paste and shrimp. Cook about 1 minute.
6. Add the wine, seafood stock, cream and seasonings. Reduce to a simmer. At this point, you will want to taste the bisque and adjust the flavor with salt and pepper.
7. Cover and simmer about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking or burning on the bottom of the pot.
8. Ladle into bowls and garnish with the parsley.

This soup is great as a starter or an entree. Add a really good baguette and a dry white wine and you’ve got a meal befitting the best yacht club in town.