This
recipe and photos are courtesy of Cynthia Detterick-Pineda of Andrews, TX. Check out more of Cynthia's
Southwest Recipes.
Calabazas! Those wonderful squash that a lot
of people may not realize are a large part of Spanish cooking. I personally
love squash: summer squash such as zucchini and crookneck, and winter squash
like butternut and acorn, and yes pumpkin! Some days, I just don’t have a clue how to
change up the menu when it comes to making a squash side dish. The other
night, I came up with this recipe after looking over a few dozen recipes
that just didn’t really excite me. Turns out this ended up pretty
good, so I have added it to my recipe files, and I want to share it with
you!
Baked Butternut Squash with a Tart Twist
Recipe Type:
Squash,
Lemons
Yields: 4 servings
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Ingredients:
1 large
butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly-grated
lemon zest
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
3 tablespoons firmly-packed brown sugar
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon freshly-squeezed
lemon juice
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a shallow baking dish.
Using a large knife, carefully cut the butternut squash into two halves lengthwise. Scoop
out the seeds and any fibrous-strings. Wrap the halves in plastic
wrap and microwave for approximately 5 minutes. This will partially cook the
squash making it easier to peel and quicker to cook in the final baking stage.
Peel the skin off the both halves of the squash, after allowing it to cool to the touch.
Dice the squash into 1-inch pieces and place in prepared baking dish. Sprinkle
the salt, pepper, lemon zest, and cardamom evenly over the squash pieces.
In a small bowl, mix the
brown sugar and melted butter together until the sugar is dissolved; stir in the lemon juice. Drizzle
this brown sugar mixture over the squash.
Bake approximately 20 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned across the top and the squash pierces easily with a fork.
Makes 4 servings.
