Even for squash skeptics, this recipe has been a crowd-pleaser at holiday meals. The kabocha can be served as a dish in itself, or the halves, once cooked, can be diced and tossed with savory foods. Comfortable companions include roasted Brussels sprouts, sausage, brown rice, and walnuts. The tough rind of the kabocha softens with roasting and can be left intact when served.
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Remove stem from the kabocha. Split the squash in half laterally.
- Remove seeds. (If desired, wash and set aside for roasting separately.)
- Finely chop 2 tablespoons ginger root (about the size of your thumb).
- Combine ginger, honey, and butter (or sesame oil) over low heat.
- On a greased baking sheet, place both halves of the kabocha open side up. This will allow more moisture to evaporate from the squash as it cooks.
- Brush both halves of the squash with honey-ginger mixture.
- Season with salt to taste.
- Place in oven and roast for 35 minutes or until tender.
Cirrus Wood
Premium aged, naturally aromatic, produced in a facility that also uses soy, nuts, dairy, and gluten: these are a few of the words that might be used to describe Cirrus Wood. Or they may just be something he read off a bag of basmati rice he had in the pantry because he didn’t know what to write here. Cirrus is a freelance writer and photographer living in Berkeley, California. His writing has appeared in McSweeneys, to do lists, old year books, and the missed connection section of Craigslist, where he writes personally addressed messages to the drivers who cut him off in traffic.