Maple-Roasted Delicata Squash

The other night I finally decided to do something with the 2 delicata squash that came in our CSA share and had been sitting on my counter for the past couple of weeks.  I'd never cooked or eaten them before and wasn't sure how to best prepare them. I thought about soups, purees, stuffed squash...all sorts of fancy dishes.

But a week went by and there they still sat. Then another. Clearly I wasn't going to get around to doing anything fancy with them.  Finally I decided to just do a simple roasting method.

Oh YUM! The squash roasted up nicely - firm and slightly crisp in the outside, soft inside.  They were slightly reminiscent of sweet potato fries.  And who doesn't love sweet potato fries? 

Maple-Roasted Delicata Squash

(printable recipe)

Ingredients:

2 delicata squash

Olive oil spray

Sea salt

1 tbsp. maple syrup

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Lightly coat a baking sheet with olive oil spray.

2. Rinse the squash and cut in half lengthwise.  (You can peel if you'd like - I didn't.)  Remove seeds.  Cut into 1/2-inch slices and lay on baking sheet.  Spray with a light coating of oil and sprinkle with sea salt, to taste.

3. Bake for 15 minutes or until squash pieces start to brown.  Turn and bake for another 15 minutes.

4. Drizzle lightly with maple syrup and toss to coat.  Bake for another 5 minutes.  Remove from oven and serve immediately.

The sweet squash paired nicely with smokey sauteed kale and quinoa with chickpeas, mushrooms, and Italian herbs. 

What's your favorite winter squash?