Roasted Kabocha Squash
by Ouita Michel
Some of my favorite salads involve roasted vegetables and my all-time favorite roasted vegetable is kabocha squash. It is a very dense, delicious member of the Hubbard family with dark orange or green skin (which is edible when cooked). Happy Jack’s Pumpkin Patch grows it for Holly Hill Inn.
Roasted Kabocha Squash. Photos by Talitha Schroeder
One small squash makes six portions of this dish.
Ingredients:
One small Kabocha squash- wash thoroughly
2 T olive oil
Kosher salt to taste
1 cup fresh apple cider
½ cup toasted pumpkin seeds
3 ounces of thinly sliced country ham- I prefer Nancy Newsom’s Prosciutto cured country ham
2 T of pumpkin seed oil- or your favorite nut oil
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees
Trim the stem off the outside of the squash, cut in half and scoop out the seeds and pulp. Cut each half into nice wedges.
Lay the wedges out on a sheet pan, and drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt. Roast until tender and lightly brown.
While the squash is roasting, bring the apple cider to a boil in a saucepan and reduce by ⅔
Toast the pumpkin seeds- and season with salt- and a pinch of cayenne if you like a little heat!
To assemble the salad, arrange the wedges on a platter (or two wedges for each person on individual plates.) Spoon over the apple cider reduction, and sprinkle with the pumpkin seeds, lightly crushing them as you go. Drape the wedges with the country ham and finally, drizzle with a little of the pumpkin seed oil.
It’s a simple but elegant side dish or starter for a lovely fall menu. Enjoy it with hard cider or a glass of dry riesling wine.
© 2021, Holly Hill Inn/Ilex Summit, LLC and its affiliates, All Rights Reserved
Related Content
Sweet as Sorghum
From seed to cane to mill to fire ~ read about sorghum in Kentucky and the makers who still cook molasses.
