Calabaza en Tacha, Date-Sweetened Candied Squash
Calabaza en tacha is the squash that fills Mexican markets around Day of the Dead, traditionally simmered in a copper vat, the tacha, with cones of unrefined piloncillo until the flesh turns almost jammy. The name is the technique. Here the deep, molasses-edged sweetness of piloncillo comes from Medjool dates blended into a syrup, which caramelizes around the squash the same way as it reduces. Orange, cinnamon, clove, and star anise are the classic aromatics, and they carry the dish so completely that the missing sugar goes unnoticed. Kabocha holds its shape better than a field pumpkin and its skin softens to edible, but any dense winter squash works. Leftovers keep for days and are, if anything, better cold.
Ingredients
- 2 lb Kabocha squash, seeded, cut into large wedges, skin on
- 8 Medjool dates, pitted
- 1 Orange, zest in strips, then juiced
- 1 stick cassia cinnamon
- 3 wholes Cloves
- 1 whole Star anise
Method
- Blend the pitted dates with 1.5 cups (360 ml) hot water until you have a smooth, pourable syrup. This date paste stands in for the cone of raw piloncillo the dish is named for, bringing the same dark caramel sweetness with the fruit's fiber still attached.
- Lay the squash wedges skin side down in a wide, heavy pot. Pour the date syrup and the orange juice over them, then tuck in the orange zest strips, cinnamon stick, cloves, and star anise. Kabocha skin is thin and edible once cooked, so leaving it on holds each wedge together through the long simmer.
- Cover and simmer gently for 35 minutes. The squash releases its own liquid, which thins the syrup and then slowly cooks back down, so resist adding water and let the pot make its own glaze.
- Uncover, tip the pot, and spoon the syrup back over the wedges every few minutes for another 15 to 20 minutes, until a knife slides in with no resistance and the syrup has reduced to a sticky glaze. This basting is what candies the surface, so it is worth standing over.
- Turn off the heat and let the squash cool in the pot, where it keeps drinking up the syrup. Serve warm or cold, each wedge spooned with the reduced syrup, and pull out the whole spices before serving.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 160 calories, 3 g protein, 6 g fiber, 10 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
