The house that I grew up in was not a squash eating house. I tasted squash for the first time less than a year ago. I don’t know if the lack of squash in my diet had to do with geography, the people in my house not eating squash, or a case of simple coincidence. All I can say is, when my friend made it and our group of three sat down on the couch and ate it straight off the shiny tin foil, I met a food I was sad to have missed all of these years.
I know that at least a fair number of you out there eat squash, or at least have in the past. And I know that because of this, such a simple preparation is probably something you already have in your repertoire. Still, here I am, because it is good for the soul to take a few things, combine them simply in the correct way and receive something great. Not great in the grandiose or large way, but great in the outstanding and exceptional way.
Keeping it simple is not always easy, but it tends to yeild good results.
In the spirit of the ease of preparing this roasted squash, I’ve got everything I did step by step:
Roasted Butternut Squash
(a la mode de Matt)
- Cut your squash in half, lengthwise.
- Scoop out the seeds and pulp with a spoon.
- Score the squash halves in a cross hatch pattern.
- Spread some butter (~ a tablespoon) on the squash, and then dust with brown sugar. Place your prepared squash on a baking sheet lined with foil.
- Roast in a 400° F oven until fork tender (~45 minutes, but it will vary depending on the size of your squash), basting with the butter and melted sugar every ten minutes or so.
- Devour! What an awesome vegetable!
This is so easy and fantastic. I will tweet it.
xo
Nisrine
Thanks Nisrine! Hope you’re having a good weekend!
Simplicity is often the best way to go about honoring such a fantastic ingredient! The color of this squash is so vibrant that I feel like I can already taste it!
It was an especially great color! I love that a food so good for you looks that tasty, like it’s enticing you to eat it.
I have been eating squash (zucchini) my whole life (stuffed) but this year I had the great pleasure of discovering kabocha squash!
I love butternut and your method of preparing it is the best one I know.
I’ve never tried kabocha squash before, what is it like?
Dana, Thanks for stopping by my blog, I am always happy to find a new one to follow. This recipe looks great I love squash!
Thanks for stopping by here too Bryan!
Don’t you love foods that taste amazing without needing to be fancied up in any way? Roasting definitely brings out this quality in otherwise bland-sounding foods: squash, Brussels sprouts, broccoli. Sounds like roasting helped you get on the squash bandwagon!
If you ever try another squash-cooking technique, try sautéeing cubes of butternut with sage leaves, salt, pepper, a bit of brown sugar, and add spinach leaves at the end. It rivals plain roast squash, though that’s a close one!
Mm, does that ever sound good! Some more savory counterpoints to the sweetness of the squash would probably be really good. I’ll have to try it out.
Oh, what a delightful idea! Thank you to you and keep em coming. I can’t wait to make this.