Butternut, spaghetti, buttercup, turban, Hubbard, acorn…they come in all shapes and sizes and each one tastes a bit different, but most squash varieties offer a similar nutritional punch: lots of carotenes, plenty of vitamins A, B and C, plus folic acid, fibre and potassium.

Canada's Food Guide recommends eating one dark green and one orange vegetable daily. Although squash is botanically a fruit from the gourd family, we prepare it like a vegetable and the Food Guide identifies it as one of the recommended vegetables to help you get your daily dose of orange. Just half a cup of squash represents one serving.

A cross between pumpkin/squash pie and crème caramel, this dessert showcases the deep colours of the season with a rich harvest taste.

This divine side dish is destined to become a classic. 

Try this elegant squash-stuffed pasta as a substantial starter, a vegetarian main course or as an accompaniment to a roast. 

In Mexico, cooks use chayote in salads or pan-fry blanched chayote slices dipped in flour, egg and bread crumbs. It is often cooked in a cream sauce or stuffed and baked. Chayote is low in calories and a very good source of vitamins C and B6, potassium, copper and manganese. 

White turnips add spiciness and fluff up the texture of squash purée, allowing the flavour of a little butter to go a long way. 

You can use any firm, bright orange winter squash for this recipe, such as butternut, calabaza or hubbard, all of which are high in beta-carotene and vitamin A. The cooking times may vary slightly depending on which one you use, so just keep an eye on the squash if you change the variety.

This curry is a hybrid of Malay and Thai styles. If you wish, replace the green beans with Asian long beans, which will not get as soft as green beans with long cooking. If you don’t have all the spices, you can omit one or two; the curry will still be nice. 

Fried, whole dried chilies bring their intriguing smoky flavour and a pleasant hit of heat to this squash dish – or more than a hit, if you like to eat the toasty and pungent chilies, too. If you have access to an Indian grocery store, look for Kashmiri chilies; they’re very tasty and not too hot. Use your favourite orange-fleshed winter squash, such as butternut, buttercup, Hubbard or turban, to name a few.

The more marbled pork from the shoulder melts its flavour into squash in this Philippine-inspired stew.

Despite its impressive appearance, this four-tier cake is simple to prepare and assemble.

 

Butternut Squash and Molasses Pie
Richer and more flavourful than regular pumpkin pie, this pie serves up a real taste of autumn. You can also use ambercup, hubbard or turban squash.