Roasted Acorn Squash Recipe

It’s officially Fall and what better way to welcome it than with roasted acorn squash! I bought one acorn squash, and roasted it two ways:  One half savory, the other half with sugar and spice. You can eat savory acorn squash with rice, or other roasted vegetables, and enjoy the sugar and spice version also with rice (cooked in coconut milk), making a dessert-like dish. I added my sugar and spice acorn squash version into my harvest breakfast grain cereal that I will be posting in the next couple of days. Either way, both versions are too good to be true, and of course, so undeniably Fall.

Ingredients

• One firm, heavy acorn squash

Savory version: this recipe it for one half of an acorn, so simply double recipe if you are only making the savory or sweet version to put in both halves.

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 fresh garlic clove, finely minced

Sugar and spice version:

• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 whole star anise
• 2 whole all spice
• 2 whole cloves
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter

Directions – the ingredients for the savory and sweet versions are meant for one half of an acorn. If you choose to make both halves one style, simply double the desired ingredients for savory, or sugar and spice.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slice acorn squash length-wise in half. Place cut squash face down in a shallow baking pan with 1/2 inch water in it. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove squash from oven, and reset oven to broil. Turn baked squash face up, and sprinkle one half with fresh black pepper, salt, and garlic powder, minced garlic, a drizzle of olive oil and one tablespoon of butter. For the sugar and spice half, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, 1/8 teaspoon salt, cinnamon, whole cloves, whole all spice, and whole anise stars. Next add two slabs of butter (about 2 tablespoons). Broil for 10 minutes.