Eat More Veg

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Basic Roasted Acorn Squash: Sweet or Savory

“You know, when you get your first asparagus, or your first acorn squash, or your first really good tomato of the season, those are the moments that define the cook’s year. I get more excited by that than anything else.”
~ Mario Batali

I do wonder why people reserve acorn squash only for holiday dinners. It really does have a lovely presentation; throw in some dried cranberries and pecans and now you’re practically a Pilgrim. For me, squash is harvested in the fall and enjoyed for the duration of winter. In fact, I still have one butternut squash left from our summer garden in our storage. I plucked it off the vine in late September and it is still good to eat, I think that is pretty cool. 

This is a real simple side dish to any fall or winter dinner. I like to roast them two ways. One sweet and one savory. My reason for doing two? My children prefer the sweet, I prefer the savory and my husband will enjoy either; a real win-win. Besides, it only takes a few minutes to prepare. It does require a bit of time in the oven so plan accordingly.  The sweet and savory squash can be roasted side by side in the same dish. Two squash will easily feed 4-6 people as a side.

For the Savory:

1 acorn squash, halved and seed 

a bit of olive oil

1/2 tsp each

kosher salt,

ground pepper

rosemary

onion power

dried oregano

dried basil

crushed red pepper

If you have a mortal and pestal, crush seasonings together then sprinkle equally over a halved and seed acorn squash. If not, just mix seasonings in a small bowl before diving among the squash. Drizzle with olive oil. Place Squash in a deep baking dish side by side and fill dish with an inch of water. 

Bake at 375* for 1 hr or until fork tender. 

For the Sweet

1 acorn squash, halved and seed

2 pats of butter or drizzle with veg oil for vegan version*

2 TBS brown sugar

2 tsp cinnamon 

pinch of nutmeg 

pinch of ginger

pinch of salt

Add a pat of butter or oil to each halved and seeded acorn squash. In a small bowl combined the spices and the sugar and salt then sprinkle evenly over each squash. Place squash in a deep baking dish and fill dish with an inch of water. 

Bake at 375* for 1 hr or until fork tender. 



  1. eatmoreveg posted this