I had half of a lovely Amber Cup squash to use up, so last night I tried Saffron Trail’s Parsi Dhansak, which is basically dal with pumpkin.  My favorite part was that you pressure cook the pumpkin with the dal, and it all came out done just right.  Very easy to get right.  I didn’t have any methi, so added some cilantro instead, which I thought came out well. 

I love winter squash, but it’s one of those things that I just never think to cook.  I bought a bunch of beauties at the farmers market last weekend, so I’ll be experimenting with some more squash recipes in the next week or so.  Over the weekend I made a squash soup (with the other half of the Amber Cup) with some apples, pears, onions and fresh sage.  I added just a touch of balsamic vinegar at the end, since it was a little too sweet with the fruit.  The balsamic cut it just enough.  I topped each bowl of soup with some fried sage leaves (fresh sage leaves fried in oil until crisp) which make a really attractive garnice, and they’re tasty too. 

I’m thinking Morroccan-themed pumpkin & tomato over couscous tonight.  Report to follow…