This blog posting and recipe (and mutant squash hybrid) were featured in this month's Grow Your Own Roundup over at Andrea Meyers Cooking, Gardening & Four Hungry Guys. You should go over there and see what else people are growing (and eating) all around the world!
WTH is a PumpkinZini?
This is a PumpkinZini. Squashes and zucchinis are notoriously non-monogamous. They will cross-pollinate with each other flagrantly, and they hybridize within the same generation. So, if a female pumpkin flower is pollinated by a male zucchini flower, you have a PumpkinZini. Shaped like a pumpkin, with pumpkin-like flesh and seeds inside, the skin is zucchini thin.
What do you do when you have cross-pollinated PumpkinZinis? You make some soup!
Shunn Garden PumpkinZini Soup
2 smallish summer squash (any variety will do)
olive oil
1 head of garlic (we used Chesnok Red from our garden)
3 small onions or 1 large (we used the onions from our garden)
1 cup of broth or stock (it doesn't matter in this case, because you are using so little; you can use water or even beer or wine if you want)
Cut the squashes in half, remove the seeds, and rub with olive oil.
Roast at 425 for about 45 minutes.
While the squashes are roasting, roast up one head of garlic. I love this electric garlic roaster. It cost about $40, and it roasts up 2-3 heads in 20 minutes. If you don't have a garlic roaster, cut off the top 1/3 of the bulb, rub oil on the cut surfaces, wrap it in aluminum foil and put it on the roasting pan with the squash.
After the squash and garlic are done, let them cool enough so you can handle them. While you're waiting, slice the onion very thinly. When the squash and garlic are cool enough, scoop out the flesh and squeeze the cloves into a bowl.Caramelize the onion slices in the bottom of a Dutch oven (or other heavy pot) in some olive oil. Medium hot burner for about 20 minutes. Then put the onions, squash and garlic into your food processor and purée away.
Put everything back into the Dutch oven with the cup of broth and heat up.
Enjoy! I've topped mine with homemade herbed croutons, but any garnish or addition of herbs would be good. Maybe even crispy onions!That's what's cookin' in my kitchen. Yummmmm!
2 comments:
This is fascinating. I've heard that squashes cross pollinate freely, which is why they must be kept far from each other on commercial farms, but have never seen an example of the offspring. Your soup sounds delicious, thanks for sharing with Grow Your Own.
That is so incredibly cool!!! It looks awesome, too. Your soup sounds so satisfying and delicious!
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