Greek Pumpkin Stew

Luscious pumpkin stew easily turned into a hearty, silky soup coming right from the Cretan cuisine to your table. Simple ingredients like pumpkin or butternut squash, onions, mushrooms, and chestnuts, cooked the Greek way (stifado!) and resulting in earthy flavors & savory sweetness.

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Course Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish, Soup

Cuisine Greek, Mediterranean

Servings 4

Ingredients

FOR SOUP

1 ½ pounds (680g) about 4 cups of ½-inch cubed butternut squash or any other pumpkin

FOR STEW

1 ½ pounds (680g) about 2 cups of 1-inch cubed butternut squash or any other pumpkin

FOR SOUP & STEW

1 ½ pounds (680g) about 3 cups onions or pearl onions, cut into wedges
½ cup (120ml) olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
10-15 raw chestnuts
or
10-15 cooked & de-shelled chestnuts, roughly chopped
5-6 oyster mushrooms or any other kind, roughly chopped
½ cup (120ml) dry red wine
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 cup (250g) tomato sauce (passata)
2 bay leaves
A pinch of nutmeg
A pinch of cumin (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

PREPARE THE RAW CHESTNUTS

Use a serrated knife and firmly hold the nut. Slice one way and then the other to create a cross in the shell. Then turn over and do the same on the other side. Repeat for all nuts.
Place the chestnuts into a small pot and cover with boiling water. Simmer on medium heat for 20-30 minutes.
Drain, transfer to a bowl and cover with a towel. After 10 minutes peel and remove the shells. Discard any that isn't de-shell or that appears to be bad.
Let them cool for a while and roughly chopped them. Set aside.

PREPARE THE PUMPKIN/BUTTERNUT SQUASH

Peel or slice off the squash’s skin. Scoop out and discard the seeds. Chop up the flesh into cubes. ½-inch sized for soup, 1-inch sized for stew.

MAKE THE STEW & SOUP

Preheat a large heavy-bottomed pan with olive oil and sauté the onion for about 10 minutes until translucent. Add the garlic and the pumpkin.
Stir in the rest of the ingredients: mushrooms, tomato, wine, vinegar, chestnuts, bay leaves, nutmeg, and cumin (optional). Season to taste. Simmer to medium-low heat for bout 20-30 more minutes stirring occasionally.
When a knife will easily press into pumpkin flesh, remove the pot from heat.
In case you make the soup, use a stick blender or transfer to a blending machine and blend until smooth.
Serve hot with homemade crusty bread, olives, a sprinkle of thyme, or feta cheese crumbles (vegetarian version).

Notes

Add no more than ½ cup of hot water if you need more liquid in your stew/soup. Same practice, in case of reheating.

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