Winter Squash: Try Roasting It!

There's plenty of winter squash right now in farmers' markets and grocery stores and, if you like it, you probably know there are plenty of ways to prepare it.

But cookbook author and cooking teacher Tori Ritchie says the best way is to roast it.

In the "Five-Minute Cooking School" on The Early Show Thursday, Ritchie showed three ways to roast squash and offered recipes at the Williams-Sonoma flagship store in Manhattan.

Of course, there's a wide variety of winter squash, including butternut, acorn, hubbard and more.

Ritchie says roasting it is ideal because the flesh contains a lot of sugar, and roasting caramelizes that sugar, enabling the squash to develop a fabulous flavor.

The first way to roast squash is to simply cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, and roast it with the skin still on. Of course, this isn't as easy as it may sound. Lots of people struggle to get a knife through the squash's thick skin. Ritchie suggests hitting your knife with a rubber mallet: The additional force pushes the knife through the skin. Once you've halved and cleaned out the squash, you want to lay it on a lightly-oiled baking sheet, skin-side down. The shell acts as a cover, keeping the flesh from drying out. It will take about 45 or 50 minutes for the skin to fully cook.

You can also remove the shell and cube your squash before placing it in the hot oven. This method enables the squash to cook faster, and it will turn a beautiful golden brown. FYI: You can now buy cubed fresh squash in the produce section of many grocery stores.

Finally, small squash, such as acorn squash, can be roasted whole. You want to cut off the top and hollow out the insides. You may also want to slice off the bottom of the squash so it will sit up on a sheet pan.

Once you've roasted your squash, the next challenge is figuring out what to do with it!

Ritchie offers three recipes.

SQUASH PUREE: Once you've roasted your squash halves, mash them in a bowl, just like you would mashed potatoes. Ritchie adds melted butter, milk and ginger. Mix this all together, and you have a very easy, very tasty side dish.

NOODLES WITH ROASTED SQUASH: This recipe calls for combining wide egg noodles with cubed, roasted squash. Ritchie pours a sauce of butter, olive oil, cream, sage leaves and pine nuts over the pasta and squash.

STUFFED ACORN SQUASH: The filling of this dish is a tasty mixture of bread, onion, garlic, herbs, chicken stock and dried cranberries. It's a hearty side to serve at the holidays, or can even be a vegetarian meal when paired with a salad.

RECIPES

ROASTED SQUASH PUREE WITH GINGER

A bowl of creamy squash puree is one of the comfort foods of the autumn table. Although squash is frequently boiled, roasting brings out its sweetness. Acorn, hubbard, turban squash or pumpkin can be used in place of the butternut squash.

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash, 2 1/2 to 3 lb.
2 Tbs. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp. peeled and grated fresh ginger
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Method:
Preheat an oven to 400°F. Lightly oil a baking sheet.
Cut the squash in half through the stem end and place, cut sides down, on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until easily pierced with a knife, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside until cool enough to handle. Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds and fibers and discard. Spoon the flesh into a bowl and keep warm.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter and milk and heat until the butter melts and the milk is hot, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat.
Using a potato masher, mash the squash until smooth. Alternately, process the squash in a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulsing several times until smooth, about 1 minute. Stir in the milk mixture and ginger and season with salt and pepper.
Transfer to a heavy saucepan and place over low heat. Reheat gently, stirring to prevent scorching. Spoon into a warmed serving bowl and serve immediately.

Serves 6.

Adapted from "Williams-Sonoma Seasonal Celebration Series, Autumn," by Joanne Weir (Time-Life Books, 1997).

For more recipes, go to Page 2.EGG NOODLES WITH ROASTED SQUASH

To prepare a winter squash, first cut it in half lengthwise with a sharp knife. Then use a vegetable peeler to remove the thin outer layer. Scoop out the seeds with a large metal spoon and cut the flesh into bite-sized pieces.

Ingredients:
1 lb. butternut or calabaza squash, peeled, seeded and cut into small cubes
Salt, to taste, plus 2 Tbs.
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
7 Tbs. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 Tbs. olive oil
8 large fresh sage leaves
1/3 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 lb. wide egg noodles or pappardelle

Method:
Preheat an oven to 450°F. Lightly oil a baking sheet. Arrange the squash cubes on the sheet in a single layer and season lightly with salt and pepper. Roast until golden brown and tender, 15 to 25 minutes. Set aside.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. In a large fry pan over medium-low heat, melt the butter with the olive oil. Add the sage leaves and sauté until fragrant, about 4 minutes. Add the pine nuts and cream, stir to combine and remove from the heat. Remove the sage leaves and discard. Season with salt and pepper.
Cook the pasta. Add the 2 Tbs. salt and the pasta to the boiling water. Cook, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until al dente, according to the package instructions. Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Add the pasta to the sauce. Add the roasted squash and stir to combine. Add as much of the reserved cooking water as needed to loosen the sauce and serve.

Serves 4.

Adapted from "Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Series, Pasta," by Julia della Croce (Oxmoor House, 2006).

STUFFED ACORN SQUASH

Serve this hearty side dish alongside roasted pork or the holiday turkey. It also makes a delicious vegetarian entrée, paired with a tossed green salad.

Ingredients:
1 1/2-lb. loaf country-style bread, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
6 acorn squashes, each about 1 lb.
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 Tbs. unsalted butter
2 small yellow onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/3 cup chopped assorted fresh herbs, such as sage, thyme and oregano
3 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 cup dried cranberries
2 cups chicken stock
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

Method:
Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 350°F.
Spread the bread cubes out on a baking sheet. Bake, stirring occasionally, until the bread is dry and crispy, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the bread cool completely. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
Increase the oven temperature to 375°F.
Cut the stem end off each squash. Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds and pulp from the center and discard. Cut a thin slice off the bottom end of each squash to create a level surface. Season the squash cavities with salt and pepper. Stand the squashes upright in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
In a large sauté pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onions and sauté until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, salt and pepper and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the nutmeg and the assorted fresh herbs. Add the onion mixture to the bowl with the bread. Add the parsley and cranberries and stir to combine. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of the stock. Spoon the stuffing into the squash cavities, mounding a small amount on the top.
Pour the remaining 1/2 cup stock into the baking dish. Bake until the squashes are tender when pierced with a fork and the stuffing is browned, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. If the stuffing begins to brown too quickly, cover the squashes loosely with aluminum foil. Remove the squashes from the oven, drizzle each with 1 tsp. olive oil and serve immediately.

Serves 6.

Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.