Having been given some saved seed for these and never having grown them before, they seem to be thriving well but I have a couple of questions to ask you expert veg gardeners
How do I know when they are ready to harvest? They are already the colour of some of the pictures on-line (sort of orange) but the taty looking versions in the local supermarket ar nearly red in colour. Do they vary?
Once I’ve harvested them, does anyone have any personal recommendations for how to cook them. They are supposed to be delicious but I’m as ignorant about cooking them as I am about growing them
Lightly fry an onion in butter in a large saucepan
Skin potimarron and cut into cubes, throw into saucepan and fry until lightly brown (I sometimes take the onion out so it doesn’t burn while the squash is cooking)
Throw in some spices that you like - I like our soup to have quite a bite so I add grated fresh ginger, grated fresh turmeric, Bart’s berbere spice, cumin, coriander - push the squash aside so that the spices can dry fry for a few seconds on the bottom of the pan. Then mix the squash into the spices. Put back onion if you’ve taken it out.
I add a garlic clove that has been pushed through a press at this stage as I think it is so easy to over-fry garlic so it’s bitter.
Add 1-2 litres of stock - veg if you want it vegetarian, chicken if you want a bit more oompth.
Add salt.
Simmer for 20-30 minutes til the squash is very soft and breaking up.
Put through blender til very smooth.
Put back in pan to bring back to near boiling add large dollop of crème fraiche or (my preference) coconut cream and stir so it’s lovely and creamy.
How are the leaves? If they are starting to wither then harvest time is here. - although in general I leave them as long as possible as I feel this means they store better.
I don’t peel potimarrons! One reason I like them so much.
My go to is
Chop potimarron up into chunks (and deseed!)
Put in roasting pan with some oil and spices of your choice
When cooked throw into a pot with veg stock and blend. If energetic fry some onion and garlic in pot first before adding potimarron and stock.
Thanks @JaneJones ! The leaves are definitely withered so perhaps I can grab one to try. I’ve tended to roast other squash in the past in order to get better flavours so it does make sense. Will report back
I agree that the good thing about potimarron is that you don’t have to peel it. We fry an onion till soft, add garlic and ginger and fry for a minute, add vegetable stock then some chopped carrots, simmer for 20 minutes, then add the chopped potimarron and a chopped sweet potato, season with salt, pepper, turmeric, coriander and chilli, simmer till everything is soft, blend, and enjoy with soya cream on top and homemade bread.
My husband is a great potimarron fan…we have harvested 30,this year. They keep really well in a dry place, harvest them when they are red rather than still orange, wipe clean before storing. They do not need to be peeled before cooking. Recipes…we use loads in soups, plenty of recipes on the net. But my favourite use is in cakes, better than courgettes as they are not too moist. Best cakes I make are ginger cake, and chocolate cake. This year I am going to experiment with potimarron chips…has anyone had any success with those?
I’m rather surprised but one of our potimarrons has now turned red. The others are orange or yellow. Last year I left them a lot longer before harvesting, as was suggested in an earlier post. Would the red potimarron be ok to eat now? It looks like the ones in the shops…
What is the stem looking like, brown? What happens if you put your nail into the skin? Sounds like the colour is correct, the other ‘signs’ will confirm.
If your nail (fingernail not 6 inch nail ) pierces the skin easily not quite ready, if it just makes an indent, then you are good to go. Make sure you cure it before eating as the flavour intensifies during that process.
I think that may be where I’ve gone wrong before. Our butternuts rarely seem to last. The potimarrons did better though but that may be because I prefer them
That’s surprising. Ours last up to about 10 months in a cool dark place. We currently have 12 butternut from three plants. A couple look ready to harvest now and the rest will be ready in the next 6 weeks or so. We always leave them until they are ready to just about drop off the stalk themselves. We always carefully support and protect them.
) pierces the skin easily not quite ready, if it just makes an indent, then you are good to go. Make sure you cure it before eating as the flavour intensifies during that process.