Gem Squash Soup

[Debs]

OK...So picture this... It's freezing outside...Raining, cloudy and wintery...


Hand up who wants salad????

Try this...

Veg allowance - completely gem squash (remember to weigh cooked)..

Steam it until it's tender

Then mash and add a half cup of boiling water and half a teaspoon of curry pwd and some cracked pepper..

Stir the gem squash as you add the water and you will find it makes a steaming hot cup of something that looks and tastes almost exactly like pumpkin soup...

Serve with crackers and cheese...or your protein....

Yummy wintery comfort food

[Tuti]

That sounds good Deb. I'd love to try it but I cant find any Gem squash around. Do you get yours from a fruit & vegi shop or supermarket.

Tuti

[Faithy]

So you weigh it cooked?.. Sorry to ask.. but how come?

Sounds divine.. I'm yet to find it here.. will keep looking.

[hexi2]

Ahhh yes..but trying to get my hands on some gem squash is proving impossible! There are 2 online South African stores in Australia and both have sold out! BUGGAR ME

[Butterfly_girl]

Hiya Faithy,

You weigh only what you eat cooked when it comes to gem squash's because the skin is quite thick and heavy and it's also full of seeds!

[tashlee75]

Hi... what exactly is Gem Squash? Is that those yellow things?

[Trips]

Excuse my ignorance but I am presuming that gem squash is in some way different from normal squash then? And do you weigh normal squash cooked or uncooked? That soup sound delicious... but I just wanna be sure before I try it...

Cheers,

Trips xxxxxx

[ConnieK..]

Gem squash are from South Africa, they are bottle green on the outside and have orange flesh. Mine are about the size of a Tennis ball and have quite a few seeds in the middle.

Connie

[Soon2BSlim]

About the Gem Squash ........ yes, they are round and dark green on the outside but in South Africa we ate them from when they were pale yellow inside to orange. The lighter the flesh inside the younger and fresher they are. In fresher/younger (and in my opinion, tastier) gem squash the skins can be quite soft and the seeds and skins are edible. When they are younger they look and taste similar to a zucchini, apart from the shape. When they are older and orange inside, the skins are hard as well as the seeds and not good for eating and yes, the flesh then becomes more like pumpkin. Just as an aside, we generally didn't buy gem squash if it was getting old and hard with orange flesh. With such an abundance of them (they grow very easily) we could normally buy young/fresh gems year round.

We used to make a yummy gem squash and cauliflower soup so I would imagine using zucchini, if you couldn't get gem squash, would work just as well for Deb's soup.

What do you think Deb?

[lynzir51]

Hi All
I was given to understand that the beauty of this squash was the fact that it tasted more like pumpkin and not like regular squash - zucchini, yellow squash etc! Guess it depends on what taste you are looking for.
Have tried Rock & Oll at Stone's Cnr as advised, but they only get it intermittently. Rang a farmer in Gatton who grows it but it is currently out of season and only available from early October (he sends it to Brisbane $25 a box & postage I imagine). Brett steffens 0419 021 421. Then I called Home Fresh Organics and they have it reduced to $1.99 per kilo and deliver to Brisbane for $7.70 (you can also pick up order from Kenmore). Delivery is Friday & I am having a box delivered tomorrow between 2 - 7pm (20/06/0. This may be older stock as it is reduced but as we are looking for a pumpkin substitute rather than a squash, this may be a good thing. Hope this helps.
Cheers
Lyndis

[lynzir51]

The box for delivered by courier yesterday - 45 gem squash for $19.99 & $7.70 delivery. Baked some whole in the oven, took them out and inserted a knife - well - nuclear gem fission!!! I had gem squash & seeds from one side of the kitchen to the other! Bad start but good outcome - I mashed the flesh (of the ones I let cool) with garlic, onion, herbs and it is as close to a pumpkin as a sqash could ever get. I had a steak with 1/2 salad allowance & half gem and what a gem! I din't realise how much I missed that flavour. Today I made a chicken soup based on it for lunch - yum. For anyone hankering over a starchy veg - go for it, these as the best substite so far.
Cheers
Lyndis

[Cheral]

Finally found some at Farmer Jacks in Leeming for those in WA. They were a very pale green/yellow inside so must be fresh.

I cut them in half, scooped out the seeds and microwaved for 5 mins.

Then mashed added water and curry powder as per Debs recipe, and fried my allowance of fresh fish and then flaked that through. Also added a tspn mayo. And lots of salt and pepper

really really tasty. Have just made up another batch to take to work tomorrow.

Not quite as nice as pumpkin but a very good subsitite.

thanks Deb

[Soon2BSlim]

IGA in Canning Vale (WA) also have Gem Squash. It's at the corner of Ranford Road and Campbell Street. At the moment they are on special for $6.99/kg. Nice fresh ones too.

[Soon2BSlim]

Hi Kristine

Thanks for the question re: gem squash. Yes, I still have them as one of my vegies. Gem squash is my absolute favourite veg and I am happy to report that my local Woolies sells them although not all do. I like them best if they are not orangy inside but rather a pale yellow. When they are more orange inside they can tend to be stringy but are not so when younger and paler inside.

Good luck finding some.

Louise