Found Food: Spiced Kuri Squash and Chicken Stew

When one impulse buys a 4-pound Kuri squash, it then behooves one to find a recipe that uses it.  This is the recipe that I found--and since I have a habit of finding food before I find the recipe, I'm creating a new tag.  

The amazing Red Kuri Squash

All of the vegetables and the chicken are local; the broth, while not homemade, has made use of leftover broth from my roomie's fabulous pilaf that she made me two nights ago.  I placed the onion, garlic, and ginger ends and peels in my freezer bag o' stock scraps. 

ETA: This recipe was originally posted in September 2010; it's now 2 October 2011, and I made this again deboning 2 lbs of leg quarters--NOT for the timid but an excellent way to get bones for the freezer hoard for future broth--to get 1.25 lbs of meat.  I also took photos!  Next time I make this, I may use coconut milk in place of the broth, since I bet that's worth the calories.



Spiced Kuri Squash and Chicken Stew (Adapted from Heart of Cooking)

Servings: 4

You can probably substitute another winter squash such as butternut, even using two bags of frozen chopped squash for a much more convenient meal.  I highly recommend the Kuri squash, though.  Not only is a very pretty, but it has fat, easy-to-remove seeds that I plan to toast once they dry out.  Om nom nom!

Depending on how salty your stock is, you may need to add some salt to this recipe--I use my homemade stock, which is salt-free.  Quorn chicken tenders would make this recipe vegetarian.  Also, I suggest cutting all the vegetables, including the squash, before cutting up the chicken. 

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1″ of ginger root, grated

1/2 tsp dark mustard seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2-3 dashes of cayenne

2 large chicken breasts (about 1.5 pounds), cut into 1″ cubes

1 Kuri squash

1 1/2 cups or so water or organic chicken broth (homemade = best)

2 cups cooked basmati rice (optional)

Half-gutted Kuri

1. Cook the squash: Cut the squash in half and spoon the seeds out (optional: reserve seeds for toasting).  Bake it in the oven at 350 F with a little water for about 45 minutes.  Take out the halves and place them on a plate to cool down.  When they are cool to touch, cut them in half again and then gently peel the skin off with a paring knife.  It should come off pretty easily.  Try to keep them in whole pieces while you are peeling.  Once peeled, cut into 1″ cubes.  

2. After you pull the squash from the oven: in a 4-qt. saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and sauté the onions until translucent and soft. Add the garlic and ginger and sauté for a few more minutes.  Stir occasionally to keep ginger and garlic from sticking.

The final product!

3. Add all of the spices and stir into the onion mixture. You may need to add a little water or oil to the mix to keep the spices from sticking too much.  You can also turn down the heat.  When you sauté spices like this, the flavors come out more.

4. Add the chicken to the mixture and sauté at medium heat until almost completely cooked, about 10 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.  Add the water or broth and cook until chicken is thoroughly cooked.  It should look like a thick soup or stew.  Add more or less water or stock depending on your taste.

5.  Add squash cubes to the chicken stew and gently stir in.  Add salt and pepper to taste, serve with rice (or not,) and enjoy!