I made this great fall dish for a potluck last weekend and got so much positive feedback that I decided to share the recipe with everyone. I got it out of a cookbook titled “Fresh, Fast & Green” by Susie Middleton.
30 minutes prep; Serves 2-3
Ingredients:
1 small acorn squash (about 1 to 1 1/4 lb)
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 tsp pure maple syrup
1 1/5 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp ground cardamom
kosher salt
- Preheat the oven to 475F and line a large (18×13) heavy-duty rimmed sheet pan with a piece of parchment paper.
- With a sharp chef’s knife, cut the acorn squash in half lengthwise (through both the stem end and the pointy end). Scrape out the seeds and fibers with a spoon. Put each half, cut side down, on a cutting board. Slice off about 3/4 inch from each end and discard. Slice the squash crosswise into 1/2 inch thick half-rings. If you want, you can trim away any remaining fibers from the rings by running a paring knife around the inside of each. Put the half-rings on the parchment paper.
- In a small saucepan, melt the 2 Tbps butter over low heat. Remove the pan from the heat and add the maple syrup, vanilla and cardamom. Stir well. Use a pastry brush to lightly brush the squash pieces with a little less than half of the mixture. Season the pieces very lightly with salt and turn them over. Brush this side with more of the mixture, but reserve about 1 Tbsp for brushing on after cooking. (If using a larger squash and you wind up with a little bit less than 1 Tbsp of liquid, add 1 or 2 tsp more butter to the sauce pan.) Season the tops very lightly with salt.
- Roast the squash for 12 minutes. Use tongs to flip the pieces over. Continue to roast until they are nicely browned (the bottoms will be browner then the tops) and tender when pierced with a paring knife, 10-12 minutes. Flip the pieces over again with they come out of the oven so that the browner side is up.
- Reheat the butter mixture briefly over low heat if necessary (or melt the additional butter). Brush the butter mixture over the squash slices and serve.
“The buttery glaze that tops these delicious squash rings is more subtly flavored than it sounds. But it adds just the right amount of sweetness and interest to the earthy flavor and silky texture of roasted acorn squash.” – Susie Middelton
