Oven Roasted Squash

Somehow, fall always manages to completely sneak up on me. Wasn't it just a week ago that Mr. Foodie and I were enjoying 80 degree temperatures on the shore of Lake Michigan? What?!! It's mid-September already??!! Suddenly it's sweater weather and I have to put my sandals away.

Fall has it's share of good things, too. Like apple picking. And the explosion of cider apple donuts suddenly available near me. (Blood sugar willing, I'm definitely not going to say no to those!) Fall makes me want to bring out the comfy sweats and curl up on the couch and do absoultely nothing ALL. DAY. LONG. Along with the colder weather comes nice, warm comfort food. Yup, bring on the soups, braises, and all those one pot dishes I am so fond of.

Of course, right now is prime time at the farmer's markets. The sheer bounty is crazily beautiful, eye catching, and claustraphobic all at once. The late summer peppers, eggplants and tomatoes are making their last stands while the winter squash start rolling in. And nothing tastes of fall like squash. I love squash because even grocery stores seem to obey the seasonality of squash. Unlike other produce, you can't really find a butternut squash in the produce aisle in, say, May. I assume this is due to demand because I thought winter squash could last pretty long. Baked acorn squash doesn't sound as charming in April as it does in October. :)

This week in our CSA we received a tiny little delicata squash. I know that most squash recipes lean toward a sweet application - maple syrup, brown sugar, cranberries - but I wanted to go a little more savory. Squash is sweet enough on it's own, especially when roasted, so the contrast with the garlic in this recipe is surprisingly delicious. Since our CSA squash was too little on its own, I supplemented it with a buttercup squash, but any winter squash would work - butternut, kabocha, hubbard, acorn.

I will readily admit, the worst part of this recipe is preparing the squash. My regular knives weren't good enough - I had to bring out the big guns.

The prize at the end is worth your effort though - Mr. Foodie and I pretty much abandoned plates and picked up hot pieces of roasted squash right off the baking sheet. Yes, it's that good.

Oven-Roasted Squash with Garlic and Parsley

From Eating Well

5 pounds winter squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1 inch chunks
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley

Preheat oven to 375. Toss the squash with 4 teaspoons of oil, salt and pepper. Spread evenly on a large baking sheet. Roast, stirring occasionally, until tender throughout and lightly browned, 30-35 minutes.
Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant but not browned (about 30 seconds to 1 minute). Toss the roasted squash with the garlic and the parsley. Adjust the seasoning and serve.

Serving size - 3/4 cup. 104 calories, 3 g fat, 21 g carb.