Squash

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This soup hails from Morocco.

If you've never thought of roasted squash as a side dish, try this recipe. Just rub pieces of butternut squash with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake until their flesh is tender and roasted to tawny gold. Serve the squash the way it's eaten in country houses in the part of the Emilia-Romagna region where nearly every family makes its own balsamic vinegar. Small bottles of balsamico are set out on the table, and everyone seasons their squash to taste with the vinegar. Try the squash with grilled lamb chops, roast chicken, pork and simple sautéed fish dishes.

Frozen desserts seem especially festive — and no less refreshing — in the cooler months.

This is known as chilpachol in Mexico. Don't forget to add a squeeze of fresh lime juice to each bowl.

Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 5 hr

People who turn their noses up at rice often find this tiny pasta irresistible. Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 40 min

Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 1 hr

Butternut is one of my favorite squashes. We often bake a small butternut squash (about 1 pound) at home; we split it lengthwise, seed it, score the flesh with a knife, sprinkle on a little salt, and bake, skin side down, for 1 hour in a 400-degree oven. Excellent in soup and pureed, butternut squash is always welcome at our table. This gratin is quite rich and should be reserved for special occasions, like Thanksgiving.

Any combination of vegetables from the supermarket salad bar would work well here. Complete this colorful vegetarian meal with a romaine salad tossed with marinated artichoke hearts, canned garbanzo beans, and a creamy Italian dressing. End with biscotti and espresso.

Many dark, leafy greens, like kale, contain calcium. The beans have it, too.

This is my favorite way to cook winter squash. You peel, and slice it, then cook it in a skillet with cider and winter herbs. When most of the liquid boils away, the cider forms a tart-sweet glaze around the now-tender squash. Delicata is a wonderfully firm-textured squash that's not too sweet and almost like a potato. Other varieties like acorn, turban, or kabocha will make good substitutes, but they may not hold their shape quite as well through the braising.

For convenience, you can begin making the crust up to two days before you plan to serve the pie. Maple sugar is available at some supermarkets and at natural foods stores.

This recipe was inspired by the version at Tramonti e Muffati restaurant, where the dish gets its distinctly Roman flavor from local mint, Sicilian lemons, and two-year-old Grana Padano cheese. The pine nuts are raw here, as Italians rarely toast them. Active time: 10 min Start to finish: 20 min