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Squash Pie
The yellow, hard-shelled squash makes almost as good pies as pumpkin, and it is often obtainable when pumpkin is not. Squash pie is made in the same way as pumpkin pie, with the addition of one tablespoon of melted butter. Squash is not so rich in oil as pumpkin and never makes quite so satisfactory a pie, but the squash will stew sufficiently in one hour or even a little less. Care must be taken that it is very dry before being removed from the fire.
This is a variation entry rather than a standalone recipe: the filling proportions live with the pumpkin pie above it, and everything here is the adjustment. The one instruction that matters is the last sentence — wet purée makes a weeping, curdled pie.
- What "yellow, hard-shelled squash" meansA mature winter squash: Hubbard, buttercup, kabocha or butternut. Not summer squash, which is far too watery. Kabocha and Hubbard are the driest-fleshed; butternut is the easiest to find but runs wetter and needs more drying.
- Dry the purée properlyDry the pur he the the the the the mashed squash to a dry pan over low heat and stir until it stops steaming and pulls away from the sides in a mass. Alternatively spread it on a sheet pan and dry it in a 300F oven. The author's stated reason is that squash carries less oil; moisture content varies a good deal by variety, so judge the pur ee in front of you.
- Roasting beats stewingHalving the squash and roasting it cut side down at 400F for 45-60 minutes drives off water rather than adding it, and concentrates the flavour. Scoop and mash when cool enough to handle.
- The tablespoon of butterMelted and stirred into the finished filling. It is compensating for the lower fat content the author mentions; do not skip it, and do not add it to the pan while the squash is still drying out.
- Oven temperatureA custard pie of this kind wants a hot start and a moderate finish: 425F for the first 15 minutes to set the crust, then 350F for 30-40 minutes until the centre is just barely set and still trembles slightly.
- Canned squashCanned pumpkin sold in the United States is often a Dickinson-type squash anyway, so a can works directly. If using canned squash proper, drain it and dry it as above if it looks wet.
- YieldThe proportions come from the pumpkin pie entry immediately above, which is not reproduced here; take the yield from it. Cool completely before cutting or the custard will not slice cleanly.
Squash and pumpkin pies were interchangeable in American kitchens long before either was standardised. Both plants are New World cucurbits, and the "pumpkin" of nineteenth-century recipes was frequently a hard winter squash by any modern botanical reckoning — a blurring that persists in the canned product sold today. What is notable in this entry is the frankness of the judgement: the Butterick book, said to have been published for a mass audience of home sewers and housekeepers in the early twentieth century, does not pretend the substitute is equal. It tells the reader that squash carries less oil, will never make quite so satisfactory a pie, and needs butter and careful drying to close the gap.