ACORN SQUASH
If you’re making a soup, cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds, rub olive oil on the flesh, sprinkle with salt, and turn cut-side-down onto a sheet pan or baking dish. Bake at 400°F for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, so that the flesh is tender and can easily be scooped from the skin.
Considered a winter squash because it stores and tastes like one, the standard dark-green acorn squash is more closely related to the pattypan squash than to a butternut, but don’t let that throw you. Cook acorn squash (Cucurbita pepo) and winter squash like butternut (Cucurbita moschata), buttercup (Cucurbita maxima), and kabocha (also Cucurbita maxima) in the same ways: aiming to make the flesh tender and caramelized.
When you want roasted squash for a salad or side dish, crescents are a good way to go. Start by cutting the squash in half and scooping out the seeds. Working with one half at a time, either cut along the valleys of the distinct ridges or, if you’d rather, cut horizontally into rings or halfrings that highlight the star-like edges. Or go ahead and leave the halves whole—when I was growing up, Mom cooked halves, each filled with butter and brown sugar.
CELERY ROOT
Last year I spied my first locally grown celery root (aka celeriac) in the refrigerator at Woods Rose Market in the middle of winter. I was so surprised I bought two. They may look a little intimidating, but with your big knife you’ll be able to cut celeriac into manageable chunks in no time. First give the root end a good slice so you have a flat surface to stabilize the thing while you knife-trim around the perimeter, giving one last trim to the stem end.
Chop into big chunks and simmer in diluted milk with a potato or two for about 20 to 30 minutes, then drain and mash with melted butter and cream. Or cut into bite-sized pieces and tumble onto your usual sheetpan roast to add some variety. If you want to get fancy and happen to like mayonnaise, make celery root remoulade.
LITTLE GEM LETTUCE HEADS
Little Gem is a cold-hardy lettuce variety that’s a cross between romaine and butter lettuce. Find the compact heads at farmers markets and retailers who specialize in local produce. Little Gem leaves make for beautiful salads and lettuce cups, and they’re heartier than other leaf lettuces.
When composing a winter salad, after choosing your mix of “greens,” think fruit (sliced pear, apple, or Fuyu persimmon, pomegranate arils, or blood orange segments); a toasted nut; cheese (Parmesan and Manchego are good options); and a classic vinaigrette (a dab of Dijon, salt and pepper, vinegar or lemon juice, and enough olive oil or walnut oil to make an emulsion to your preferred zinginess (oil amount double the vinegar, sometimes triple).
