My sister, bless her, has decided to embark on the Whole30 diet. She's on week three of the 30-day grain-free, alcohol-free, sugar-free, dairy-free, legume-free, meat-and-veggie-focused meal plan that's designed to hit the reset button on your digestive system and general feelings of well-being. I commend this, despite the fact that she'll still be on the strict diet for our family's Thanksgiving feast.
The majority of the meal won't be hard to pull off—turkey, roasted veggies, and salads will fill her up without making the rest of the table feel like they're sacrificing anything. But what to do for dessert? Pie is out (grains in the crust), as is custard or pudding (sugar), ice cream or whipped cream, (sugar + dairy), or cookies and quick breads (sugar + grains). After much consideration, I have perfected what I think is the ultimate dessert for people on restrictive diets (Paleo! Vegan! Gluten-free!), folks with allergies, or just generally picky eaters. I'm making a coconut-kabocha squash purée. Here's how to do it—and why it works.
Puréed squash can walk the line between side dish and dessert. The sweeter the squash, the more treat-like it will taste. Bright-orange kabocha is perfect for this, with its ultra-creamy texture and sweet flesh. It's thick and has a low moisture content, meaning you won't have it won't taste watered-down or weak. Sugar pumpkins and butternut squash are also good options; you'll want to steer clear of delicata, which has a higher moisture content, and is a pain to peel.
Once you've peeled the skin, scooped out the seeds, and chopped the squash into 1-2" pieces, you'll need to cook it. Skip the boiling water and roast it. This will concentrate the flavor. The key here is to cook the squash at a low enough temperature (325˚ ought to do the trick) so it doesn't get any color, which would make the finished purée look brown. Before putting it in the oven, you’ll need to coat the squash with a very thin sheen of ghee or coconut oil—many restrictive diets don't allow for regular butter or vegetable oil, so check with all relevant parties before cooking the squash. Turn the squash occasionally with a spatula to promote even cooking and to make sure that the bottoms don't get too dark.
Make sure the squash is fully cooked by sticking a piece with a sharp knife; if it pierces the squash with no resistance, the squash is done. Purée it with either a food mill or food processor. In most circumstances, I'd add butter and cream to my squash purée, but those are off-limits for restrictive diets. Thankfully, coconut milk is allowed even on Whole30 (provided it doesn't contain any additives or preservatives), so I will be boosting the creaminess factor on the purée with a partial can of full-fat coconut milk—you can use the rest of the can for your mashed potatoes.
Brown sugar, maple syrup, honey: all off-limits. The workaround here is to play up the squash's inherent sweetness with warming baking spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cardamom. Because we most frequently encounter these spices in sweet desserts, our brains are trained to think that they're inherently sweet. But don't go crazy: The point is to enhance the purée, not overpower it.
While it may not be the gooiest, dreamiest, most decadent dessert I’ve ever made for Thanksgiving, I do think it’ll fit the bill—and I’m actually looking forward to it. I’m just thankful my sister hasn’t declared herself vegan. Yet.