Roasted Acorn Squash
As fall really starts to set in and hearty comfort foods start becoming very important, you may be hitting a rut with side dishes and veggie meals. There are so many fresh fall flavors, but it can be hard to find the perfect new recipe to bring into your repertoire. Between fussy kids and a crunch on time, you need the easy people pleasers. Chef Adrianne Calvo, owner of the highly acclaimed Chef Adrianne’s Vineyard Restaurant and Wine Bar shares a vibrant recipe for a fall favorite: Acorn Squash. It’s a fall staple in our home, but we needed a new spin (and we ran out of maple butter) so Chef saved the day with her recipe: Roasted Acorn Squash + Burrata Mozzarella + Garlic Brown Butter Pecans + Salsa Verde.
This recipe has quite a few ingredients, but it’s one of those “throw it together and let it cook” dishes that isn’t difficult at all. Enjoy!
What you need:
– 1 acorn squash, cut into 4 pieces, remove seeds
– 1 tablespoon canola oil
– 1 tablespoon brown sugar
– ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
– 1 cup burrata mozzarella
– ¼ cup butter, unsalted
– ½ cup pecans, chopped
– 1 tablespoon garlic, slivers
– 1 teaspoon soy sauce
– 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
– ¼ cup parsley
– ¼ cup green onion
– ¼ cup cilantro
– ¼ cup lemon juice
– ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
– 1 teaspoon honey
– Pinch kosher salt
– Salsa verde
What you do:
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Squash prep: Place the cut squash onto a baking sheet and drizzle with canola oil, sprinkle with brown sugar, and salt. Throw it in the oven to bake for 20 to 30 minutes – or until fork tender.
Topping: In a small sauté pan over medium heat, cook pecans in butter for 2 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the soy sauce and crushed red pepper flakes. Set aside.
In a blender, add the parsley, green onion, cilantro, lemon juice, olive oil, honey, and salt. Blend until smooth. To plate, add a spoonful of burrata on top of the squash and drizzle with salsa verde. Then, top with the pecan garlic butter. Yum!
Adrianne Calvo is the Executive Chef and owner of Chef Adrianne’s Vineyard Restaurant and Wine Bar, Host of Maximum Flavor Live on NBC’s 6 in the Mix, author of four cookbooks: Maximum Flavor (2005); Chef Adrianne: Driven by Flavor Fueled by Fire (2008); #MaximumFlavorSocial (2014); and Play with Fire (2015), and founder of the Make it Count Foundation. Chef Adrianne’s Vineyard Restaurant and Wine Bar opened in 2007 and offers a varied and rotating menu with something for everyone. Monthly, the restaurant holds its signature event, Dark Dining, where guests are blindfolded for a sensual experience eliminating one sense in order to enhance another, providing maximum flavor.
