Maple Glazed Delicata Squash

As the gardening season is rapidly winding down here, I get regular harvest reports from my resident vegetable man. One of those was that we ended up with 107 Delicata Squashes. 107! What the heck am I going to do with 107 squashes? And that doesn’t count the number of buternuts, or spaghetti squashes, either.

Seriously – it is not such a bad problem to have. We’ve given quite a few of them away already, but still have a ridiculous number remaining. At least winter squash is easier to get rid of than zucchini. It takes up quite a bit of room in the garden, so a lot of people don’t bother with growing it at all. Of the smaller yellow-fleshed winter squash, Delicata is my favorite. It’s got a lovely flavor – milder and sweeter than my other favorite, Butternut, and it’s much easier to cook with than, say, acorn squash. Acorn squash has those deep ridges that make it all but impossible to peel, and while Delicata does have some ripples on the surface, they are shallow and give up their skin pretty easily. The only negative I can think of with Delicatas is that they don’t seem to keep quite as long as some of the other small winter squashes, but they do freeze well, so it’s no big deal to get them cooked up and mashed if they start to go bad.That makes them perfect for this recipe, which uses peeled and seeded rings, roasted in a rich, sweet and spicy glaze. Some people don’t even peel Delicatas, and we have tried them unpeeled, but prefer them sans peel. Just a little too chewy for our taste, but you might feel differently.

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Maple Glazed Delicata Squash

Author: Donalyn Ketchum

Cuisine: Asian Inspired

Recipe type: Side Dish

Serves: 4

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 35 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Ingredients

2 or 3 Delicata winter squash
olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon butter
⅓ cup pure Maple Syrup
2 Tablespoons Soy sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese 5 Spice Powder
6-8 grinds fresh black pepper
Melt the butter, and add the rest of the ingredients. If you keep your syrup refrigerated, then warm that up a bit as well, so that it will blend together.
Once the squash slices are beginning to soften, start basting them with the glaze. It won’t seem to stick at first, but that is ok.
Every 5 minutes, take the pan out of the oven, and gently turn each ring [tongs work well], and baste the side that was down with the maple mixture. Return to the oven, and repeat every 5 minutes until the squash is cooked through, and a nice, sticky glaze has formed on both sides of the slices. Taste one, and season lightly with salt if needed.

Instructions

Melt the butter, and add the rest of the ingredients. If you keep your syrup refrigerated, then warm that up a bit as well, so that it will blend together.
Wash and peel the squash, and cut into about 1 & ½ inch rings. Use a knife, or the tip of a spoon to remove the seeds
Arrange the rings in a single layer on a heavy baking sheet, lined with parchment paper. The parchment is a good idea for this recipe, because the glaze is going to end up kind of almost candied, as that would be no fun at all to try and scrub off later.
Drizzle the rings with olive oil and kind of move them around the sheet, turning over, to get the cut sides oiled. Sprinkle with some kosher salt and fresh pepper.
Roast at 350º for 20 minutes. It should be just starting get a little soft, but if it is not, then put it back in the oven for another 5 minutes, or until it is.
Once the squash slices are beginning to soften, start basting them with the glaze. It won’t seem to stick at first, but that is ok.
Every 5 minutes, take the pan out of the oven, and gently turn each ring [tongs work well], and baste the side that was down with the maple mixture.
Return to the oven, and repeat every 5 minutes until the squash is cooked through, and a nice, sticky glaze has formed on both sides of the slices.
Taste one, and season lightly with salt if needed.

We like this as a side dish with pork, particularly with spicy flavors, like grilled pork chops or chicken with a little heat in the flavorings. It also went well with roast chicken and risotto. It’s not bad all by itself, either!