- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Difficulty:
easy
- Serves:
4
Sicilian Stuffed Butternut Squash
Description
This story below was taken from a blog I found on the web, while looking for information on squash. Of course the site had nothing to do with the vegetable except that it is used in the contest of the proverb.
“Falla comu vó é sempri cucuzza.” Literal translation “Make it any which way, it is always squash”. The moral of this proverb “no matter how you disguise something, serve it, improve it, or change it, it still has the same composition, smell and flavor.”
Which can be applied to food or anything else, that sometimes cannot be made or changed for the better.
The beauty of proverbs is that they say so much with the use of few words, unlike my explanation.
The link below is where I found this story of wisdom. You can visit there for more stories like the one below.
Dominic Orlando is the author of the blog
http://cucuzza.livejournal.com/
LU TURISTA “MERICANU E LU PISCATURI SICILIANU
The Sicilian Fisherman and the American tourist
A boat docked in a small Sicilian village.
An American tourist complimented a Sicilian fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.
“Pocu tempu,” answered the Sicilian. “Not very long.”
“But then, why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more?” asked the American.
The Sicilian explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.
The American asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”
“À la mattina sta curcatu tardu, poi mi ni va piscari antichia, iuco cun li figghi mii, e in pomoriggiu fazzu ‘na siesta cun la mugghieri. À la sira, vaiu in villaggiu pir virirri i mii amici, bivemu ‘na pocu bicchieri di vinu, sunamu la chitarra, e cantamu ‘na pocu canzuni. Aiu ‘na vita bona.” the Sicilian responds, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife in the afternoon. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs. I have a full life.”
The American interrupted, “I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat.”
“E doppu chistu?” asked the Sicilian, “And after that?”
“With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Palermo, Rome, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge new enterprise.”
“E quantu tempu ci bisogna pir fari tuttu chistu?” asked the Sicilian, “How long would that take to do all that?”
“Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years,” replied the American.
“Vinti cinc’anni! E doppu?”
“Afterwards? Well my friend, that’s when it gets really interesting,” answered the American, laughing. “When your business gets really big, you can start buying and selling stocks and make millions!”
“Miliuni? Davveru? E doppu chistu?” asked the Sicilian, “Millions? Really? And after that?”
“After that you’ll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends.”
The Sicilian fisherman laughed and walked away carrying his fish home.
The moral of the story: Sali metticini in ‘na visazza, conzala come vuoi e sempri cucuzza. (see my explanation of proverb, above)
In honor of the proverb here’s my stuffed cucuzza recipe. Of course this recipe can be varied according to squash available in your area and time of the year, you can even use Zucchini, Acorn squash, Cucurbita, Cream of the crop, Heart of gold, even large pumpkins that you can serve as a family size tureen in the middle of the table with the stuffing inside. Just cut the top off and use as a cover to the tureen, as in the picture below.
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add to shopping list Ingredients
2 butternut squash
2 cups water
2 leaks
2 cups cooked chick peas ( I always use dry chick peas that I soak overnight, then cook them the next day. You can use canned i
1/4 cup extra vergin olive oil
4 Tbsp Parmigiano Reggiano
2 medium sized chicken breast deboned (This is optonal , you may keep it strictly vegetarian by adding 2 more cups of chic
salt to taste
basil chopped very fine
Preparation
In a large enough pan to fit the 2 butternut squash, place the squash and the 2 cups of water
Let it cook on medium to low heat for about 1/2 hour or until you can stick a toothpick in the middle of the squash, without too much force.
While squash is cooking cut chicken into small cubes (1 inch or less)
Sear chicken breast cubes in hot dry pan, stirring constantly to avoid sticking to pan.
When chicken is done, salt to taste and set aside.
When the squash is cooked, you may need to let it cool a bit first and then cut each squash into two equal parts as in the picture.
Spoon the seeds out first and discard.
Then spoon the rest of the flesh out, without damaging the shell
Place the flesh into a container and set aside
Reserve the shells as they will be your serving container.
Cream the chick peas in a food processor (they need not be creamed to perfection)
In a sauté pan, sauté leeks
When they become translucent add all the other ingredients except the shells of the butternut squash, stir everything together
Taste for salt and pepper and add according to taste
Cook for 1-2 minutes, until all the ingredients are hot
Remove from heat and spoon over the shells, in 4 equal parts.
Serving Suggestions
Serve hot with thin slices of Nonna’s Crusty Bread that has been firmly toasted, almost like a cracker.
The creaminess of the vegetable and the toasty bread are a great compliment to each other.
This dish is a meal in itself.
It will make a great lunch or dinner.
Without the meat it is a nourishing and filling dish, thanks to the chick peas.
