Roasted Delicata Squash with Brown Butter
Description
This decadent Roasted Delicata Squash side dish features a browned butter sauce flavored with maple syrup, roasted garlic, and toasted pepitas. With just 9 simple ingredients and in less than an hour, you can have a restaurant-quality side dish perfect for a weeknight meal or entertaining guests.
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Ingredients
- 2 delicata squash (1.5 pounds each), ends trimmed, halved lengthwise, seeded, and sliced crosswise into ½ inch-thick slices
- 2 cloves garlic, unpeeled
- 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup raw pepitas
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- ¾ teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- Flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425°F (218ºC) with rack set in lowest position.
- On a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle squash and garlic with oil; toss to coat and season with salt and pepper. Arrange squash in a single layer, cover tightly with foil, and roast until squash is just starting to soften, 12–15 minutes.
- Remove foil, increase oven temperature to 450ºC (232ºC) and continue to roast squash until side touching the pan is golden brown, about 10–12 minutes. Remove sheet from oven and using a thin spatula, flip squash. Return to oven and continue to roast squash until side touching the sheet is golden brown, about 10–12 minutes more.
- Meanwhile, melt butter and pepitas in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until butter and pepitas are golden brown and fragrant, 4–5 minutes. Immediately remove from heat and stir in maple syrup and coriander (mixture will bubble). Let cool 1 minute. Meanwhile, remove skins from roasted garlic and smash into a paste. Stir mashed garlic and vinegar into brown butter mixture; season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Transfer squash to a serving platter and drizzle with vinaigrette and pepitas; sprinkle parsley and sea salt over top.
Notes
Storage:
Feel free to store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or the oven for a few minutes until warmed through.
We don't recommend freezing leftovers as it will compromise the texture of the cooked squash.
Tips:
Size of the squash matters. For even cooking, try to choose squash that are similar in size and shape. Otherwise, you risk over- or under-cooked squash slices.
Steam then roast the squash for best results. I start roasting the squash slices covered, then finish roasting them uncovered so they can brown. This simple step allows the squash to steam before roasting.
Steaming makes the cooking process faster, and allows us to cook the squash at a higher temperature. High temperature is important for achieving browning (aka flavor) and the quick steam shortens the cook time, which helps to avoid dehydrating and shrinking the squash.
Increase the oven temperature halfway through roasting. This trick helps mitigate some of the issues we run into when roasting squash with a high moisture content. To help the browning along, I increase the oven temperature slightly for the last 20 minutes of roasting.
You may wonder why steam at all if the moisture causes issues. Aside from jumpstarting the cooking process, steaming also softens the skins. And if you’ve had or cooked delicata squash before, you know you can eat the thin skin, and we want to make it as texturally pleasing as possible!
Nutrition
Serving: 1/6 of the recipeCalories: 181kcalCarbohydrates: 2.5gProtein: 3.5gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 235mgFiber: 3gSugar: 10g
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