Creole Kitchen Recipe: Calabaza Mash

A visit to my coffee-planting friends on the leeward coast of Guadeloupe changed my views on this dish. I had always thought of giraumonade as a way of disguising pumpkin, but my friends used a pumpkin they had grown themselves and made it the focus of the dish. They prepared it in the most rural, rustic way, in a tin-roofed hut, with an even more basic kitchen with next to no utensils. To this day, it’s the best I have ever had. See this recipe and more from my book Creole Kitchen.

2 lb (1 kg) calabaza (West Indian pumpkin) or butternut squash, peeled and cubed
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp sunflower oil
4 oz (100 g) smoked bacon, cut into lardons
3 green onions, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 sprig thyme, leaves only
2 sprigs parsley, chopped
1 knob of butter

*Serves 4

1. Put the calabaza in a pan of boiling water with 2 pinches of salt and boil until very tender, 15–20 minutes. Drain and mash with a fork.

2. Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the lardons, and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the green onions, garlic, thyme, and parsley. Stir in the mashed calabaza and add a knob of butter. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve hot.

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