When winter squash such as pumpkin and acorn start showing up in late summer, we season them for the grill with a tumbler of tangerine juice and thimblefuls of several aromatic spices.
SERVES 6
SPICE BOX MARINADE
| ¼ | cup butter |
| 1½ | teaspoons ground cardamom |
| 1 | teaspoon turmeric |
| 1 | teaspoon ground cinnamon |
| ½ | teaspoon curry powder |
| ½ | teaspoon salt |
| 1 | cup tangerine juice or orange juice |
| 1 | small baking pumpkin or large acorn squash, halved, cleaned of seeds, and sliced into 12 or more slices about ½ inch thick |
| Crème fraîche, Mexican crema, or sour cream, for garnish |
Prepare the marinade, first melting the butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Stir in the cardamom, turmeric, cinnamon, curry powder, and salt and simmer for a minute or two, until fragrant. Pour in the tangerine juice. Add the pumpkin slices and raise the heat to high. Simmer the pumpkin in the marinade for 2 minutes, moving the slices around as necessary to make sure all are submerged at least briefly. Remove the skillet from the heat and let the pumpkin mixture cool in the liquid.
Fire up the grill, bringing the heat to medium (4 to 5 seconds with the hand test).
Drain the pumpkin slices, discarding the marinade. Grill them uncovered for 10 to 12 minutes, turning once, until very tender and lightly browned. If grilling covered, cook for 9 to 10 minutes, turning once midway.
Serve the pumpkin slices hot or at room temperature, spooning a small dollop of crème fraîche on each at the end.