Autumn is here. If the arrival of the gray weather doesn't make you happy, the return of cucurbits should! Comforting recipes are yours. Pumpkins and other squashes are back on our plates to bring us everything we need for this new season.
Favor vegetables from the autumn season
You have surely noticed that the fruit and vegetable shelves are adorned with their most beautiful fall colors. Exit summer vegetables and make way for autumn ones, tasty and comforting. Do you know the seasonal vegetables? In autumn, cabbage returns in all its forms (Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, white cabbage, kale, red cabbage, etc.), broccoli, carrots, celeriac and celeriac. There are also endives, spinach, fennel, turnips, chard, sweet potatoes, leeks, green beans, and even forgotten vegetables (Jerusalem, parsnip, rutabaga). However, autumn is above all an opportunity to revisit its flagship vegetables:cucurbits.
Why choose seasonal vegetables?
By choosing to eat in season, you will find three major advantages:freshness, quality and flavors. Vegetables that grow naturally in season, and are picked when ripe, enjoy the best flavors. Consuming in season is also an ecological gesture. This reduces the carbon footprint with less storage and travel.
Autumn recipe:bet on cucurbits
As soon as autumn shows up, we see them everywhere on the fruit and vegetable stalls, in recipe magazines... The cucurbitaceae family returns to the front of the stage to color your plates. Rather large, this family of vegetables has more than 800 species. Among the best known are pumpkin, pumpkin, potimarron, spaghetti squash, butternut squash, etc.
Edible cucurbits are a very good source of fiber, minerals and vitamins, ideal for recharging your batteries and facing this change of season. Low in calories, cucurbits are 90% water, and are perfectly suited for all diets. The flesh and seeds of squash are eaten. Pumpkin seeds are rich in protein and have antioxidant properties. Thanks to their thick skins, squashes are very easy to store.
Squashes are also good for the wallet
Squashes also have the advantage of being inexpensive. Count on average less than 3 euros for a pumpkin of 400 g. Less than 3.50 euros will suffice for a butternut squash of 700 g. And pumpkin is even cheaper per kilo.
How to cook cucurbits?
These delicious and tasty fall vegetables are easy to cook. There are many ways to enjoy them. The flesh of cucurbits can indeed be cooked in soup, soup, gratin, mashed potatoes, cake, flan, soufflé, cake, stuffed, etc. Pumpkin seeds can be sprinkled in a salad, on a cake or a velouté. Note that the skin of most cucurbits is inedible. Only the skins of pumpkin and butternut squash are edible. Before cooking, remove the stringy part which also contains the seeds. In the spirit of anti-waste, you can save the seeds, clean them, and roast them to bring out their flavor. Add a pinch of salt and enjoy them as an aperitif.
Recipe for stuffed squash Delight your taste buds with a delicious recipe for cheese-stuffed squash.
Ingredients:
Eating autumn vegetables only has benefits for your health, and for your wallet. Do not hesitate to cook cucurbits to color your autumn dishes and fill up on energy and flavors.
