Squash Is a Mediocre Vegetable. It Doesn't Have to Be That Way.

[Food for Thought] July 29, 2018 [Food for Thought]( [Squash Is a Mediocre Vegetable. It Doesn't Have to Be That Way.]( For generations, plant breeders have largely been taking their orders from the food industry, in pursuit of varieties that are high-yielding and that can withstand long-haul travel or pesticides. A new project asks: What if seed breeders took their cues from chefs? ([Mother Jones]() Paul Ryan is back to hating welfare. As farm bill negotiations inch closer to a September deadline, members of Congress butt heads on SNAP work requirements. ([Mother Jones]() Tech cafeterias are on the chopping block. Forcing tech workers to leave the building and engage with the surrounding community seems like a good idea—but what happens to the cafeteria staff? ([Buzzfeed News]() Farmers are pissed about Trump's $12 billion bailout. Food producers aren't impressed with Trump's solution to his new tariffs. ([Mother Jones]() Even the ocean is fighting Trump's food policy. As a rare marine mammal faces extinction, a judge steps in. ([Mother Jones]() Another legend will be missed. Notable LA Times food critic Jonathan Gold passed away last week. This is what he meant to the food world. ([The New Yorker]() —Advertisement— New From Bite Podcast A decade ago, a Cornell University vegetable seed breeder visited chef Dan Barber’s restaurant for dinner. The two ended up chatting afterward in the kitchen, where a cook was preparing butternut squash for the next day’s service. Barber reports: "Just off the cuff and kind of flippantly, I said, 'You’re a squash breeder—why don’t you create a butternut squash that actually tastes good?'" Hear it on Bite, episode 63: "[Farmers Are Growing Squash That Actually Tastes Good](" What's Cooking "The idea of whipping up—much less eating—a butternut squash soup on a 100-plus degree day had all the appeal of sporting a down parka at a swimming hole." At a Sunday farmers market, I broke down and bought one of the squashes anyway, desperate for new flavors. I decided to combine it with a little slab of bacon I bought from the excellent Austin butcher [Dai Due]( into a pasta. To bring the sweet smokiness of the squash/bacon combination to the fore, I deployed an [old Mark Bittman trick](: I used half the amount of spaghetti that a typical recipe would call for. If you want to feed more people, you could get away with using a full pound of pasta. Just add additional lashings of olive oil and cheese to ramp up flavor. Substitution note: Try swapping the pasta for farro—see [here]( for more on that excellent grain. —Tom Philpott Spaghetti With Butternut Squash, Bacon, and Chickpeas (Yields three generous portions.) Ingredients Extra-virgin olive oil 6 oz. bacon, preferably from pastured hogs, diced into quarter-inch bits 1 large butternut squash, cut into half-inch chunks Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 8 oz. spaghetti 4 cloves garlic, mashed flat, peeled, and finely chopped A pinch or two, to taste, of crushed chili flakes 1 15 oz. can of chickpeas, drained (cannellini beans would also work well) A wedge of Parmesan, Grana Padano, or other hard cheese) 1 bunch parsley, chopped Directions Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place a large, oven-proof skillet—one big enough to hold the squash in one layer—over a medium flame. Add barely enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the skillet. When it’s hot, add the bacon and cook, stirring often, until brown and crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the heat on. Add the squash to the hot pan and gently toss until it’s sizzling and coated in fat. (If there isn’t enough fat left in the pan from cooking the bacon, add a bit of olive oil.) Add a small pinch of salt—go easy, because bacon is salty—and a generous grinding of pepper. Toss the squash one more time to make sure the pieces are laid out more or less in one layer. Place the pan in the heated oven. Cook, tossing occasionally, until the squash is tender and lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Meanwhile, get the pasta going. (I use Harold McGee’s [low-water, high-speed method](.) When the squash is done, take the pan out of the oven and mix in the chopped garlic and crushed chili flakes. Let it sizzle for a minute or two, as the pan’s residual heat cooks the garlic. Now add the drained beans, a ladle of pasta water, the cooked bacon, a good grating of cheese, and toss it all together. When the pasta is done, drain it and combine with the squash mixture. Add the chopped parsley, and toss until well combined. Taste for seasoning, adding salt, pepper, and chili flakes as needed. If the dish seems a little dry, add a glug of olive oil. Pass around the block of cheese and the grater as you serve. This dish goes well with a sturdy red wine—maybe one from France’s Rhône region. Hungry for more food news? Follow Mother Jones Food on [Twitter]( and [Facebook](, and find all of our food stories at [www.motherjones.com]( Did someone forward this to you? [Click here]( to sign up to get more Food for Thought in your inbox! Image credit: Kirk McKoy/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images —Advertisement— Food for Thought comes to you from Mother Jones, an award-winning, investigative journalism outlet that was founded as a nonprofit magazine in 1976. [Donate]( [Subscribe to Mother Jones]( This email was sent to {EMAIL} by newsletters@motherjones.com Mother Jones | 222 Sutter Street, #600 San Francisco, CA USA 94108 [Advertise]( | [Edit Profile]( | [Email Preferences](