Winter Yum

Winter in Seattle is not so cold and clear and crisp as the some of the best winter days of my youth, for the most part. It's a little more grey and dark (admittedly, much more). It still leaves me hankering for hearty food but you need to get some brightness somewhere! That's why I love this recipe. It's both very satisfying but also very tangy and bright, not too dense and heavy. It's a little sweet from the squash, a little spicy from the curry, a little earthy and salty from the miso, and bright and tangy from the lemon and cilantro. And, pretty much all the main ingredients are available at local farmers markets in the winter. Seriously, try this dish, and if you don't have everything feel free to experiment with the veggies. I like it to serve it over quinoa. Rice, soba noodles, and many other things would probably also be good. I have no photos of this dish, so I'm going to include extraneous ones instead. In the grand tradition of this blog, here is my cat, personifying how winter here can make me feel:

For the record he dug this cave for himself.

Miso-Curry Delicata Squash with Tofu & Kale

2 small or 1 larger delicata squash
Olive oil (enough, sorry, I never measure anything but the recipe says 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup white miso
1 tbsp red Thai curry paste (I sometimes double this)
8 oz or 1 package tofu, cut into 1/2-3/4" cubes
4 new potatoes, cut into similar sized chunks
1 & 1/2 cups chopped kale (or up to one bunch; I prefer lacinto/dinosaur/black kale...it's a kale of many names)
2 tbsp lemon juice
Chopped fresh cilantro to garnish

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the delicata squash in half the long way and scoop out the seeds (you can toast them just like pumpkin seeds). Slice into 1/2" thick semicircles and then cut each semicircle in half (so each chunk is 1/4 of the full circle).

Stir together olive oil, miso, and curry paste. Combine the tofu, potatoes, and squash and toss thoroughly with about 1/3 cup of the sauce, or enough to coat. You want to have some leftover. Roast on a baking sheet or dish in as close to a single layer as you can get, for at least 30 minutes or until squash and potatoes are getting browned on the outside and tender on the inside. Toss every 15 minutes or so. In just the last 5-10 minutes of roasting, add the kale and toss well to coat it with sauce and return to oven. Stir the lemon juice into the rest of the sauce. When veggies are done, toss with remaining sauce and cilantro and serve.

Food for thought: The recipe actually calls for 1/3 cup toasted pepitas, but I never have them on hand so I haven't added them. It also calls to just use the kale raw which is probably great but I prefer the above method - just another option. For my last extraneous photo, a reminder of the special beauty winter can bring here on the westside, which you should have a renewed appreciation for after eating this tasty dish (regardless of your geographic location). It was taken around sunset on new year's day at the Nisqually wildlife refuge.

Delicata squash has been my favorite squash recently because you don't have to peel it. So easy to just roast and chow down on, and also a great size & shape for stuffing if you're into that kind of thing.

Note: Stolen/Adopted from Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson (I think).