Spiced Acorn Squash

The first evening I served this at a dinner party, the only thing I regretted was that I didn't make more. This is delicious and easy. In a nutshell, you roast squash in the oven... easy... spread some yogurt on a plate... easy... then drizzle it with some dressing... easy! The skin is really good if you want to eat it but some people prefer to scrape the squash out of the skin.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 large acorn squash
  • 2 or 3 tbsp of canola or olive oil
  • salt and pepper

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Icing

SAUCE

  • 1 c full fat Greek yogurt
  • 2 tsp FRESH lemon juice

toppings

dressing

  • 6 tbsp butter
  • ¼ c of finely chopped pistachios
  • ½ tsp of ground cumin
  • ½ tsp ground turmeric
  • pinch of cinnamon
  • pinch of crushed chili flakes
  • pinch of flaky sea salt (or kosher salt if you don’t have the flaky stuff)

Heat 6 tbsp of butter in a sauce pan over medium heat and cook it until it gets frothy and a tiny bit brown – swirl it around once in awhile.  As soon as it is slightly brown, remove it from the heat and add the remaining ingredients.

This can be made in advance. Warm it slightly before you use it so it get nice and runny again.

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Cut the squash into 6 or 8 wedges, coat with oil (also put a bit on a baking sheet) place it skin side down. Top with salt and pepper and roast in a 425ᵒ oven for about 40 minutes (it may even be a bit longer). You want the squash to be really cooked (a knife should go in and out easily) and it should caramelizing.
  2. Spread the yogurt mixture on a shallow serving dish
  3. Place the roasted squash on top of the yogurt.
  4. Drizzle the squash with the butter mixture.
  5. Serve.

TIPS & HINTS

If I was to do two squash for a larger group - I may only 1.5 times the butter and yogurt - I don't think it would be necessary to double those components. Also, the squash really just has to be warm so if you are trying to time several dishes, it's OK if the squash has to sit out of the oven for a few minutes before serving.