Who Doesn't Love Acorn Squash in Autumn?

By Rachelle Bowden in Food on Oct 4, 2006 4:24PM

Chicagoist, that's who. Or, that's what we thought. As a kid, we refused to eat squash. Really? Squash. Ew! But a few weeks ago we saw it at the supermarket and decided what the hell. The recipe we made is pretty classic, and surprisingly, we loved it. We made the squash as a side to a main entree. Our friend brought over a French loaf, and let us tell you how delicious it was to dip the bread in the center.

Recipe and more photos after the jump!

First off, how to pick a good acorn squash. Wikipedia, our go-to for everything, says:

To find a quality squash, search for one with a smooth, dry rind without any cracks or soft spots. The rind should be dull -- a shiny rind indicates the squash was picked too early and will not be as sweet as is usually desired. Deep color is also a sign of a good acorn squash. For example, green acorn squash may have splashes of orange, but orange on more than half its surface is a bad sign. Also, acorn squashes should feel heavy for their size.

Next, preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

With a knife, cut the acorn squash in half, lengthwise. You're going to need a heavy duty knife for this or you might have problems. Our Mac knife went right through it, but be careful here not to lose a digit if you don't have a great knife!

Scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff with a spoon; then score the insides of each half with a sharp knife. Place the halves in a baking pan, cut side up. And so the skins don't burn and get dried out, add about a quarter inch of water to the bottom of the pan.

In the inside of each squash half, put a pat of butter, a dash of salt, and a tablespoon of butter brown sugar. Then dribble in a teaspoon of maple syrup.

Bake the squash for an hour or so, til the squash is soft and browned. Let it cool off a little -- that butter will scorch your mouth! Enjoy!