Zucca – an Autumn Favorite in Italy

Zucca in Italy refers to virtually any winter  or “giallo/yellow” squash, ranging from the Pumpkin (Zucca di Halloween) to Butternut (Zucca di Butternut) with at least 20 nubby and smooth varieties in between.  “Zucchini,” or little squashes, are the summer variety familiar to everyone, shaped like a cucumber but more tender.  Zucche are tough with an almost-impenetrable gourd-exterior, meaty flesh and hollow core spilling stringy fibers and seeds.  Often during October, one will find a huge zucca behind the counter of one’s local fruttavendole/fruit-vegetable vendor, most often already cut wide open, its entrails dangling.  Rarely does one buy an entire zucca at the market, but asks for some portion of a kilo; a two etti/200 gram wedge of pumpkin or butternut is the right amount of a squash to make anything from a soul warming zuppa di zucca (squash soup), to risotto alla zucca (squash risotto) or any of the many squash recipes that are popular in the season.  Even in the supermarket, one will find cleanly sliced zucca chunks, under cellophane—never clearly identified as butternut or pumpkin—abundantly available as the month’s choice offering.

The popularity of the squash has as much to do with its versatility as its abundance.  The flesh is unique in that it accommodates sweet, salty or agrodolce (sweet and sour) possibilities.  Zucca finds its way into an infinite possibility of primi piatti or first dishes.  As mentioned before, a soup or risotto all zucca is always an autumn favorite, as is ravioli stuffed with zucca or simple penne or farfalla (butterfly) pasta tossed with steamed zucca and sausage. It’s used in a number of ways as a contorno or side dish:  Zucca picante—chunks of squash cooked with red peppers, cherry tomatoes, purple onions and hot peppers is  almost as popular as Zucca agrodolce--sweet and sour squash—prepared with vinegar, honey, pine nuts, and raisins. It’s also served simply—steamed, fried or pureed.  And finally, there is no limitation to its use as a dessert:  an Italian Torte di Zucca is not quite the same as American Pumpkin pie, but tastes as good if not better.  Zucca also finds its way into sweet breads, puddings, and a kind of streudel—made by spreading a sugary puree into pastry dough, sprinkling with pine nuts, rolling it up and baking in the oven.

Zucca’s possibilities don’t end with the flesh of this amazing vegetable!  Fiori di Zucche…or Squash flowers, while harvested a bit earlier than the squash itself, is considered a delicacy and favorite among connoisseurs of the Italian table.  Most often served stuffed with mozzarella and anchovies and then deep-fried, the flowers also make a light garnish for various pastas and risotto, and also top a variety of pizzas, such as the white “pizza zucca” topped with Mozzarella, anchovies and an abundance of zucca blossoms.

Not even the seeds are wasted in Italian cuisine.  Often they are salted and roasted as snacks—their high quantities of zinc considered good preventative nutrition during cold-season.  Zucca seed oil is almost as popular as sunflower seed oil, and is used often as the basis of face lotion and soaps because of its anti-age and healing benefits as well as for protection against cold.

We moderns know that yellow vegetables, squash in particular, are rich in beta carotene—good for the eyes, the skin, and the immune system that is often compromised in colder weather, especially during that between-the-seasons period when the body must adjust to dropping temperatures.   The October Italian health magazines often recommend a yellow diet during autumn months—a diet that includes at least a serving of squash a day.  The tradition harks back to long before beta carotene was known as such, its health benefits even understood.  Traditionally squash was eaten daily in October because of sheer abundance:  people ate it because that’s what nature offered during the season and people trusted nature to provide whatever nutrition was needed.  Indeed, as with so many traditions, what we moderns consider breaking news in health maintenance has been a staple in Italian cuisine for generations.