Vegetable Stew. A.K.A. Maltese Minestra.

Hello, friends,
Today I am making, famers market fresh, vegie stew. A.K.A. Maltese, minestra. Brought to you, from the island of Malta, by way of Brooklyn N.Y. Someday I would feel blessed to have a small farm. I get over whelmed, reading about Tractors, seeders and on and on, you get the picture,

I know nothing! Anyway, my mom had so much knowledge, I wish she was still around. She knew how to deal with most any vegetable, or meat for that matter. This recipe is a little of what I was able to learn from her. God bless friends. Stay with me, I know, you all will appreciate this simple, nutritious, economical recipe.  

The raw ingredients. Way to the back right, you will see some very nice Northern spy apples. That's for desert. I am going to try and get fancy with the pastry; after all I am the pie king! what's a trip to market if no pie ingredients? Stay tuned, pie lovers!

First as per the formula, we finely dice the aromatics. They are sweated in the stock pot with plenty of salt to help them break down, along with some pepper. I like to season this at every stage. there are lots of veggies to season here.

After a good fifteen to twenty minutes of vigilantly stirring the aromatics over medium low heat, the veggies release all there liquid. The flavors are concentrated. To this we add the yellow split peas, tomato paste and bay leaf. Sweat for an additional two minutes, this is what your stew base should look like. 

Add to the base in the stock pot the remainder of the veggies. They should be chopped to a rough, rustic cut. Stir well, add some more salt ./ pepper. Add water to just cover the vegies. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for two plus hours, till the liquid thickens. Add the cannelloni beans, elbow macaroni and zucchini. Simmer for 30 more minutes.  Serve warm with parmigiana cheese on top. 

Enjoy! Minestra was a staple in our Maltese American household. Mom raise 7 kids, on a shoestring budget, thanks to recipes like this one.

Roasted Delicata Squash Pie

Fall is in the air, the thought of pumpkin spice dancing in your head. What better time to make a pumpkin pie 100% from scratch? Well, truth be told, I've been there and done that. Fresh pumpkin is a bear to work with and contains a lot of liquid. Unless you like your pie runny, you're going to have to reduce the fresh pumpkin flesh before you even think about making a filling. That being said, if it is pumpkin pie you crave, opt for 100% pure canned pumpkin. Fast forward to 2017. I was recently introduced to Delicata, a wonderful, creamy, sweet fleshed winter squash. These thin skinned, nutty/sweet flavored squash require no peeling! The skin is tender enough to eat once cooked. The texture is creamy and lends itself perfectly to pie filling. 

Delicata squash, as beautiful as it is tasty. The yellow skin with bright green stripe is quite striking.

The first step in making fresh, locally sourced, Delicata squash pie, is preparing the squash. This step is a recipe in it's own right. The slightly caramelized squash makes a great side dish. 

Roasted Delicata squash

Ingredients

• 3 medium Delicata squash (3Lbs. whole)
• 4 Tbs. olive oil (Divided)
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450F and arrange the oven rack in the middle of the oven.

• Wash the squash thoroughly in cold water, with a soft vegetable brush or your fingers.
• Remove the stem, slice lengthwise with a seriated edge knife.
• Remove the seeds with a spoon or melon baller.

• Slice into 1/2" half moon shaped pieces.

• In a medium sized bowl, toss the squash with 3 Tbs. of the olive oil and the salt.
• Grease a rimmed cookie sheet with the remaining 1 Tbs. of olive oil
• Arrange the squash on the greased cookie sheet, in a single layer. They can be crowded, but not overlapping.

• Roast the squash in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes on each side, until slightly caramelized.
• Sprinkle with a little more salt and serve warm as a side dish or set aside to cool, for use in another application. 

The pie pastry

For this step, feel free to use your favorite pie pastry recipe, or *shudder* use store brought.

My pie pastry recipe, will give you enough to make four single pastry 9" pies. Which means you will always have a pie pastry at the ready!

• Follow the link below, to my "Very Berry Pie" for the pastry recipe.
• Will's, astonishingly easy to handle, pie dough

 I just happened to have some pie dough, that had been defrosting overnight in the fridge

The chilled dough was easy enough to pat out into a 12 inch round.

The pastry was then transferred to the pie plate and the edges trimmed. I saved the excess (maybe I will try something creative). The pie plate was covered with plastic and placed in the fridge. Now for the filling.

 Delicata pie filling

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups evaporated milk or cream
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 3 medium (3 pounds whole with the seeds, before cooking) Delicata squash

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425F. 

• Puree the roasted squash in a food processor.
• Combine the evaporated milk, sugars, spices, salt, and eggs. Add to the squash and pulse until smooth.
• Pour the filling into the prepared pie shell and sprinkle with cinnamon.
• To bake: Place the pie on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake it for 15 minutes at 425°F. Reduce the oven's temperature to 350°F and bake for another 40 to 45 minutes, until the pie is mostly set and a 1" to 2" circle in the center still wobbles a bit when you nudge the pan. Remove the pie from the oven and cool it completely before slicing.

Pureed Delicata squash.

The rest of the filling ingredients whisked together. 

The combined filling in the shell. I have to take more care with my end-game. Fluting the crust is my albatross. Now into the preheated oven.

The pie is out of the oven and looking good. My only negative observation- it looks like a little too much filling. See you later with the taste test!

The verdict is in, first as to my concerns, 1. The crust: It looks just fine. It is not fancy or a show stopper, but it looks, pretty okay. 2. The filling: Once the pie cooled, the filling settled into the pie. Not too much filling, instead over stuffed, just like the Pie king likes it!

From a taste stand point, the pie was as close to perfect as anyone could hope. The total of 1/2 cup of sugar, made for a not overly sweet pie. The natural sweetness and nutty flavor of the delicata rings out. the filling was creamy and delicious. The crust was crispy and tender.  

 Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed hearing about delicata pie, as much as I enjoyed making it. Please leave a comment, let me know what you think. I value your feed back. Try the recipe for yourself, you and your guests will love it. Please share your photos and story.

 Peace,

 The Roadside Pie King