National Chili Month: Halloween Butternut Squash Chili

There are days, weeks and months that’ve been declared “National X-Food Day/Week/Month” for nearly every type of food. One of my favorites is National Chili Month, which we strive to celebrate here at Rancho Retro every October.

I’ve left it until late, almost Halloween, so I created Halloween-themed chili. In an Under Western Skies first, I’ve teamed with blogger My Eclectic Cafe, who devised the rest of the menu and designed the presentation. I’ll direct you to My Eclectic Cafe to see the result once we make our chili.

Vegetarian, Always

Like all UWS recipes, this is a vegetarian dish, and I believe it qualifies as vegan, but I am not an expert on the latter subject.

What Makes it “Chili?”

It includes the ingredient that defines chili: chiles of the genus Capsicum. I used the smallish, green serrano pepper (Capsicum anuum), notably hotter than the jalapeño, and widely used in Mexico, often eaten raw. They vary in degree of heat, and you never know exactly how hot they are until you try what you’ve bought. Feel free to substitute your own favorite pepper, but I liked the result I got with the serranos.

What Makes it “Halloween” Chili?

The objective was to create a dish in black-and-orange Halloween colors. Two simple ingredients do it nicely: butternut squash (Cucurbita moschata) and black beans. You could use pumpkin or another orange winter squash if there’s something more commonly available in your part of the world. If you do, I’d be happy to hear about it in a comment.

Halloween Butternut Squash Chili

Ingredients

One moderate-sized butternut squash (or pumpkin), probably about 2 pounds.

1 – 2 tablespoons olive oil for sauteeing

1/2 medium sized onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

2 small serrano chiles, seeds and pith removed, minced

1 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes, or two large fresh ones, diced

1/2 cup of tomato paste

1 cup of hard apple cider (or a non-alcoholic apple drink or cider, not too much sugar)

1 tablespoon chili powder, or more to taste

1/2 teaspoon salt, or more to taste

1 14-ounce can of black beans

Directions

1. Peel the squash, scoop out the seeds and cut into 3/4-inch chunks. If you’re unfamiliar with this squash, it can be tough to cut through the outer rind. Baking it in a 350-degree oven for five minutes will soften it, but not overcook it.

2. Heat the oil in your heavy bottomed chili pot. Add the onion, garlic and serrano chiles, saute until softened, about 5 minutes.

3. Add all the other ingredients except the black beans and stir together. Bring the mixture to a boil, lower it to a simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes.

4. Taste the level of spiciness and salt at about 15 minutes and adjust if necessary.

5. Stir in the beans. If you like a soupier chili, add some water. Cover and cook for 15 minutes more.

Makes approximately 4 servings

I invite you to see the finished product on the table and read about how it tasted, along with the rest of the menu by my creative collaborator from My Eclectic Cafe at this link. Thanks, My Eclectic Cafe. Fun and delicious, every dish.

For more Under Western Skies recipes, including a dozen varieties of chili, click on “Food” in the Categories widget.

If you try this recipe, please leave a comment.

© Brad Nixon 2018