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Written by Marie Simmons  Walking through the neat rows of vegetables at La Cocina Que Canta (the culinary school at Rancho La Puerta in Tecate, Mexico, where I teach cooking classes) Salvador, the head gardener, regales me with his enthusiastic review of what's at its peak in the 7 acre organic garden adjacent to the school.
"Look at the quince," he exclaims with his unbridled enthusiasm. "Look how many are on the tree." His hands move fast through the heavily laden branches as he fills his arms and mine with as many as we can juggle. Immediately, my mind is racing to the kitchen as I try to imagine how I can cook the quince for the mystery recipe I need to pull together for the afternoon cooking class I'm teaching in a few hours.
Although the menus for the classes are planned in advance, guest chefs at the school have an opportunity to teach an extra recipe based on what looks fabulous in the garden on any given day. I happen to love the spontaneity-and challenge-of making up a recipe at the last minute. Calling it a "mystery" is appropriate because the students don't know ahead of time, nor does the teacher, which makes it fun - and a great teaching moment.
After making the rounds, the quince now comfortably nestled in my bunched up apron, Salvador, leads me down the steps to his "cold cellar." It's a Norman Rockwell painting. On roughly contrasted shelves along two walls and lined up on a big wooden table in the center of the small space are even rows of winter squash: butternut, acorn and spaghetti squash organized by type. Along a third wall are perfectly stacked rows of bunched garlic. When I see the curvaceous butternut squash - a personal favorite - the mystery recipe pops into my head: I'll cube quince and butternut squash, toss them with olive oil and seasonings and roast them in the oven.
I'm excited and curious because I've never roasted quince, but my intuition tells me if the pieces are small enough and they're roasted tightly covered, they should take about the same time to cook as the squash. It turns out I'm right.
Seasoned with broken cinnamon sticks, long thin strips of orange zest and a splash of fresh orange juice that gently perfume the vegetables, the students love the dish. They unanimously agree they want the recipe for their 2009 Thanksgiving menu.
I discover when I repeat the recipe for a different class the next day, the time-consuming peeling and cutting of the squash and quince can be done ahead of time, a bonus when prepping and cooking a Thanksgiving menu.
I also confirm the fact that peeling a whole squash is tough, so I first cut it in thick slices. Gosh, it's easier this way. I also discover the brittle buff colored skin comes off in long smooth strips without cracking when I use a swivel blade vegetable peeler, especially the newer serrated blade marketed as a tomato peeler, although they work well on peaches, pears, and apples, too.
If you're tempted to make this dish for Thanksgiving dinner I suggest you get the labor intensive stuff out of the way first: peel and cube the squash and quince, toss them-in a heavy duty self closing plastic bag-with the olive oil and all the seasonings and keep in the refrigerator until ready to roast. (The quince may darken slightly, but don't worry, it'll be fine once roasted.)
Another preparation hint is to divide the roast time into two steps: roast the first half hour (covered) with foil until the vegetables are fork tender, remove from the oven, and let stand a few hours until about 30 minutes before serving. Then pop the sheet pan, this time uncovered, back in the oven for about 30 minutes, allowing a little extra time to warm up before they continue to toast and finally get a warm toasted glow along the edges.
For this recipe I thank Salvador, the brilliant garden manager at La Cocina Que Canta for his constant inspiration.
Roasted Butternut Squash and Quince with Orange and Cinnamon
Recipe exclusive from Marie Simmons
- 2 pounds butternut squash
- 1 pound quince (about 2 small)
- 4 garlic cloves, trimmed, bruised with side of knife
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 strips (3 x1/2 inch) orange zest, cut into long thin slivers
- 1 (4 inch long) cinnamon stick, broken in half
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup fresh orange juice
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary or thyme leaves (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. 2. Cut the butternut squash into large chunks. Discard seeds and pulp. Quarter the quince and remove the cores. Remove the skins on the squash and quince with a vegetable peeler. Cut into cubes somewhere between ¼ and ½ inch, not larger. There should be about 6 cups squash and 3 cups quince.)
3. On a rimmed sheet pan (approximately 15 ½ x 10 ½ x 1 inch) combine the cubed squash, quince, garlic, olive oil, orange zest, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Toss with tongs or your hands to blend. Spread in an even layer on the sheet pan and cover tightly with foil.
4. Roast 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, uncover, and with a spatula turn the vegetables and stir to redistribute. Return to the oven and roast, uncovered, and roast 20 minutes or until the vegetables begin to brown slightly on the edges.
5. Vegetables can be roasted ahead and reheated in a warm oven. Sprinkle with fresh orange juice just before serving. Add a little rosemary or thyme, if desired.
About Marie Simmons Marie Simmons, an award-winning cookbook author, recognized food writer, talented cooking teacher and a lively story teller has made a love of cooking, teaching and writing into a career rich in breadth and scope. She won a James Beard award for The Good Egg (Houghton Mifflin, 2000) and her latest book Things Cooks Love , the first cookbook from Sur La Table, was nominated for an International Association of Culinary Professionals Award.
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