What started as this grotesque thing ended up as food enough to feed a large family for a day, or a small one for several days. The best part? A gallon of soup, the recipe for which follows:
Ingredients
6 ½ pounds Hubbard squash, cut into 1-2” cubes
3 medium tomatoes, skinned and chopped
1 large white or yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1” ginger root, peeled and grated
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme
1 small hot pepper (optional) finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
1-2 limes
enough stock (vegetable or chicken) to cover all vegetables
Directions
Grind the rosemary and thyme in a mortar and pestle.
Pour oil into a large pot, heat, and add onions, garlic and ginger. Saute for a few minutes, until onions begin to turn translucent.
Add tomatoes and saute, constantly stirring, for another couple of minutes.
Begin adding squash, a handful of cubes at a time, stirring all the while, until all of the squash is in the pot.
Add the stock, bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. Cook until the squash is tender. This will take about half an hour.
Remove from heat and let the soup cool. Once it can be handled safely, puree everything with a blender. This will probably have to be done in three or four batches.
Return the soup to the pot, and add salt and pepper, and stir in the juice of 1-2 limes, adjusted for taste.
I documented the whole process. You can see the rest of the photos here.