Twice Baked Squash with Fennel Seed & Pumpkin Seed Crisp

This recipe presents a peek into the Golubka Kitchen Cooking Circle, my membership, the place I share month-to-month cooking movies, recipes, and newsletters. For this October, I needed to give you a recipe that would actually assist us floor into fall, to get excited in regards to the crisper air and cozier occasions forward, to welcome nature’s extra hushed and introspective season. I needed this recipe to really feel ceremonial and leisurely, one thing good to make on a gradual and quiet fall day, perhaps with a candle lit within the kitchen and a sizzling drink by our aspect.
Winter squash is, in fact, the famous person of autumn produce. I normally get fairly bluesy once I begin noticing the primary indicators of fall, however seeing auburn and ochre piles of squash on the farmers market all the time helps me put off these blues. Identical to with each season, nature offers us precisely what we want within the fall. Winter squash is extra dense and starchy than the water-rich produce of the summer season (tomatoes, summer season squashes, eggplant, melons), and it nourishes in a extra warming and grounding manner, serving to us harmonize with the climate.
This twice baked squash recipe relies on the identical precept as twice baked potatoes. We first roast the squash entire, till it turns into impossibly tender and collapses in form. This yields stunning, creamy and velvety squash flesh. We then scoop out the flesh, gown it up with some seasonings, and bake it once more, till it’s golden and crispy on high. Strive mixing and matching various kinds of winter squash, since all of them fluctuate in coloration, texture, sweetness, and normal taste. This could be my one among my favourite elements of the method – simply the assortment of shades of yellow, orange, and crimson alone inside the world of squash is pure coloration remedy.
To counterbalance the sleek texture of the squash, there’s fennel and pumpkin seed crisp. It’s such a taste/texture bomb and so easy to make! Buttery, garlicky, savory, a bit spicy – you would possibly need to have it on all the things going ahead.

Twice Baked Squash with Fennel Seed & Pumpkin Seed Crisp

 

Components

• about 4 lbs/1.8 kg winter squash, like acorn, butternut, honeynut, kabocha, delicata, kuri (attempt combining completely different varieties)
• 2 tablespoons vegan butter (I like Miyoko’s) or olive oil
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• sea salt
• freshly floor black pepper
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• ¼ cup uncooked pumpkin seeds
• 2 tablespoons fennel seeds
• pinch chili flakes, or to style

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F (200° C). Put together a parchment-lined baking sheet. Put the squash on the baking sheet and roast for 1-1½ hours, or till the squash is totally tender all through when pierced with a fork or knife and has collapsed in form. Let cool a bit.
2. Improve the oven temperature to 425° F (220° C). As soon as the squash has cooled down sufficient to deal with, minimize it in half. Scoop out and discard the seeds. Scoop the flesh out of the pores and skin into a ten”-12” forged iron skillet. Add the butter/oil, maple syrup, and salt and pepper to style. Mash the squash utilizing a potato masher, working the opposite elements in as you go. Unfold out the squash into an excellent layer, making some peaks and valleys on the floor along with your spoon. Roast for 40-45 extra minutes, till the squash is browned and crisped up in locations, and has pulled away from the edges of the skillet.
3. In the meantime, make the crisp. Warmth a small saucepan over medium-low warmth, add the olive oil and let it warmth up. Add the garlic, pumpkin seeds, and fennel seeds. The oil needs to be shimmering at this level. Let prepare dinner for 6-8 minutes, or till the pumpkin seeds are plump, the fennel is aromatic, and the garlic is flippantly golden. Flip off the warmth, add the chili flakes and a pinch of salt.
4. Drizzle the squash with the fennel and pumpkin seed crisp and serve instantly.

Notes

In case you don’t have a forged iron skillet, you should utilize a baking dish or perhaps a pie dish for the squash. Since most baking dishes are smaller than a ten”-12” forged iron, you would possibly need to lower the quantity of squash you employ, or bake it longer for the highest to crisp up and brown properly.

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