“African” squash is a uniquely Georgia product with its roots in Zaire and its original Georgia connection at Koinonia Farm in Americus. Ann Brewer, who manages the chef demos for the Morningside Farmers Market, was one of the original founders of Georgia Grown, a farmer-owned cooperative begun in the early 1990s.
Brewer told me Georgia Grown member Bobby Burns, once the gardener for Koinonia Farm, had been with the Peace Corps working in Zaire. When he came back to the States, he brought seed of a squash he had grown in Africa, a squash with a high sugar content that produces fruit of all shapes and sizes. Through Georgia Grown, the seed was made available to local farmers.
Pete Cimino and his son Ansley Watson have been growing African squash ever since at Cimino Farm five miles south of Reynolds. Cimino says it’s a Kubota-type squash of which there are hundreds of varieties. This one seems particularly suited to our growing conditions in Georgia.
“African squash is fairly drought-resistant and makes a huge vine. If you let it go, it could easily grow to 20 or 30 feet,” Cimino told me. They’ve found that even if the vines pick up a fungus, the plant will recover and still bear a full crop.
Unlike hybrid seed developed to produce a consistent size and shape of squash, the African squash grown here is open pollinated and develops all sizes and shapes of fruit. “We make sure to plant it away from melons or butternut squash [so it won’t pick up their characteristics]. Each year, we pick out the best fruits and save their seeds for the next year’s crop,” he said.
The bulk of Cimino Farm’s African squash goes to Canoe Restaurant, thousands and thousands of pounds, but you can buy it at the Ciminos' booth at the Morningside Farmers Market and from other farmers there and at other area farmers markets. In some years, the Ciminos also have sold the squash through Whole Foods Market.
“Gary Mennie, who was the chef at Canoe, was the one who really started its popularity,” Cimino said. “It’s a really great tasting squash, especially if you store it for a while. It just gets sweeter and sweeter.”
Carvel Grant Gould has taken over the kitchen at Canoe and continues the tradition of serving African squash soup each fall. “It gives a unparalleled silky, velvety, smooth texture that the other [squash] can’t,” she said.
At local farmers markets
For sale
Vegetables and fruit: African squash, apples, arugula, Asian greens, beans, beets, broccoli raab, butternut squash, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, chard, collards, dandelion, eggplant, endive, escarole, fennel, field peas, frisee, garlic, hareuki and other turnips, herbs, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, mache, mizuna, mushrooms, mustard greens, pea shoots, pecans, peppers, persimmons, potatoes, pumpkins, radishes, radicchio, spinach, sweet potatoes, tomatoes
From local reports
Canoe’s African Squash Soup
Hands on: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Makes: 17 cups
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 medium sweet onion, diced
1 leek, white part only, diced
8 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium African squash (about 5 pounds), peeled, cut in half, seeded and cut into chunks
8 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided
1 tablespoon maple syrup
Salt and pepper
Zest and juice of 1 lime
Toasted pumpkin seeds, for garnish
In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onion, leek and garlic and sauté until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add squash pieces and chicken stock. Simmer 30 minutes or until squash is tender. In the jar of a blender, or using an immersion blender, puree soup until smooth. Return to saucepan, if using blender, and add 1 cup cream. Taste for seasoning, adding maple syrup to taste.
Whip remaining 1/2 cup cream to stiff peaks and add lime juice and zest. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste. Garnish soup with lime whipped cream and toasted pumpkin seeds.
Adapted from a recipe provided by chef Carvel Grant Gould.
Per 1-cup serving: 169 calories (percent of calories from fat, 53), 7 grams protein, 17 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 12 grams fat (7 grams saturated), 36 milligrams cholesterol, 32 milligrams sodium.
About the Author
