Monday, October 15, 2007

Roasting

A good friend of mine, Atomic Mama, fellow seasonal cook/foodie was asking about recipes for butternut squash. After sharing my fave method of slow roasting with her - I had a craving for the winter veg that couldn't be beat without firing up the AGA. This was a great weekend to do some oven cooking which also included muffins and brownies. If you haven't tried cooking squash this way, maybe these pics will inspire....

So, you split a butternut in half & scoop out the seeds. Chop 2-4 cloves garlic (depending on your love of garlic & how big the squash is) and place 1/2 in each cavity - secure it in place with a sprig of rosemary. Drizzle oil in each cavity - and rub on flat surface. Generously salt/pepper.


Carefully place each half on cookie sheet, give exterior skin a nice olive oil rubdown - and salt/peppering. Pour about a 1/4 inch of water in the cookie sheet. This will add a bit of steam to the roasting process & keep your squash from drying out. (Can you see the bit of water in this pic?)


Place in 400 degree oven for about an hour. You should check in every now and then to see if you need to add more water. This is the look that you're going for - just roasty enough on the outside, a weensy bit caramelly on the pan and easily pierced by a knife. You'll love how the fragrance that this process creates will fill your kitchen.


Let cool a bit (& remove rosemary sprigs - they are quite pungent & have already added quite a bit of flavor) before scooping out the flesh. If you've properly babysat the water at the bottom of the pan & it hasn't burned too much - pour the caramelly roasting juices in with the scooped out squash-flesh.


Salt - Pepper - Butter to taste. Enjoy!

As an aside to the fine topic of Autumnal Roasting - Jzboy and I have logged in a whopping 17 months of baking in the LID cooker. Actually, I thought that it had been 18 months and had to go to the calendar and count. That is one way of knowing that you are in a timewarp.

24 comments:

Kayce said...

Happy 17!

atomic mama said...

Ouch - sucks to "lose" a month... but 17 is good.

Gorgeous squash photos (they could only be made better by showing more Aga in the frame next time, hint hint)! Will definitely go that route with the next squash. This time, however, we went with a curry, ginger, peanut butter soup recipe for the old CSA BN squash... now that was a hearty flavor-explosion!

walternatives said...

Yum. I'm hoping we'll see some BN squash from our CSA soon.

Congratulations another month past.

Anonymous said...

I just love autumn cooking! (Except for fresh basil...that's the only thing I miss....)

Rhonda said...

Happy 17 month LIDiversary!

I love your cooking posts...I'll have to try this one (eventually).

Donna said...

Can't wait to try this!

Happy 17!

Middle-Aged Moi said...

No kidding! I am in that time warp with ya!

If only squash tasted good...you make it look ALMOST appetizing.....LOL!

lisa said...

Oh-I've made this before, but not in a long time. Thanks for the reminder of how good it is! I've been doing lots of soups and breads (rolls) with squash, though I have a rye sponge going now. Have been thinking about squash sage ravioli-maybe next week. Really love this weather for cooking! ~lmc

Cavatica said...

Yummy! I love squash and that looks so easy.

Happy 17, that's less to go.

Katie J said...

Looks delish! I have some just waiting to roast.

17 is a lucky number for us, I hope it is for you as well.

Joelle and Chandler said...

good news! I love Butternut Squash. AND, even though I am a terrible cook, for some reason, I really know my way around an oven. This is perfect for me. I'll keep you updated. YUM!

Joelle and Chandler said...

PS. HAPPY 17
What are you counting again? haha!

Kristin said...

I've been here 3 times to look at that recipe, so I guess I best break down and roast myself some squash.

17 down... tick, tick, tick.

FDChief said...

Mmmm...this looks good.

(the squash, not the length of the wait. The wait sucks pipe)

You inspired me - I stopped at our little produce market next to my office today and got a cute little local butternut squash and roasted it - I like to use chicken broth instead of water for flavor, but same idea - outstanding. We had a lovely dinner and little Shaomei was such a good girl sitting in her highchair! She ate TWO helpings of squash (hers and the Peeper's, I'm afraid).

Hope your next month goes most quick smart.

Carolyn said...

Winter squashes are my favorite vegetables! Yummy recipe. Thanks- I'll try it.
Our Veggie Coop had a poor squash growing year- they were planted in the "new" field (only 3 years old)-so I'm feeling a bit squash deprived. But in other years, we've had butternut, acorn, Hubbard, and Sweet Mama, to name but a few. I love that there is a squash called "Sweet Mama"!

Lili said...

Lucky us, we have the same LID.

Thanks for the awesome autumn cooking idea...I've got it on the menu for tonight! Perhaps I will blog about it tomorrow with whatever else I have whipped up with it! I LOVE GOOD FOOD! -Lili

Operationtigerlily said...

Oh YUM! I know have a craving for butternut squash thank you very much. Looks amazing!

I was reading Maggies blog and I wondered if I could get the refferal of the Dr at Children's in Oakland. I have been researching Int'l Adopt Dr's and there don't seem to be any in SoCal that I could find.

Happy (if you can muster any) 17.

"M2" said...

17.......woosh
all our numbers are getting up there aren't they?

I hate squash, but I've never tried it like that.

Headmeister said...

First - Happy 17!!!

Second - that squash looks DELICIOUS!!! I'm going to have to try that!!!!

Shannon said...

TOTAL YUM. Thanks for the tips. I'll admit when I saw the title I thought you were talking about the weather here in Virginia! It's sooooo not fall here...

Jen said...

Okay, I'll be trying this recipe this month! Vege and all...sounds so yummy. Thanks for sharing!

Here's to 17! It's a good milestone. Yes, it will come. Love ya!

Liz and Ava said...

That squash sounds yummy!
Happy 17 month LID!

JMCS said...

Happy 17 mos. Sorry it was not 18 yet (bummer). The butternut squash looks great! Knitting, cooking, is there anything you can't do? I salute you Wzgirl! Take care.

Hugs,
Jonni

Anonymous said...

Hi! I made your butternut squash recipe for dinner last night - it was heavenly!!! Thanks for sharing!