Autumn is here and we are seeing winter squash and pumpkins in all of their glorious hues of green, yellow and orange. The striped delicata squash is among my favourites. “Delicata” because its skin is delicate, becoming soft and completely edible after roasting. The seeds are good to eat as well.
With this simple recipe (inspired by Forks Over Knives magazine) I decided to roast and eat some rings plain and some filled with a little bit extra. Creativity comes with the additions. You can rub any spice you like on top of the rings: cumin, paprika, cinnamon, curry powder, chili powder, etc. Once roasted, I would not skip the last step, which is brushing on a little maple syrup because it creates a lovely glaze over your selected spices, whether sweet or savoury.
Nutritionally speaking, delicata is high in fibre, Vitamins A & C, manganese, potassium and magnesium. 1 cup has about 85 calories.
Fillings can be anything you like to eat:
Savoury: rice & beans, quinoa with chopped peppers, stuffing, mashed potatoes, succotash, garlicky greens, corn, couscous, mushrooms, the sky is the limit.
Sweet fillings: diced pears, mango or pineapple salsa, apples, raisins & rice
In this batch, I made a garlicky broccolini mixture (water sauteed onion, garlic, chopped broccolini, topped with a sprinkle of tamari and sesame seeds). The sweet ones were filled with a pear-cranberry compote.
Roasted Delicata Squash Rings
Ingredients
- 1 Delicata Squash
- Your Favourite Spices Cinnamon, Paprika, Cumin, Curry Powder, etc.
- Your Favourite Fillings Stuffing, rice-and-beans,succotash, other veggies, fruit salsas or compotes
- 1 tbsp Maple Syrup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees
- Scrub the squash clean under running water
- Cut off a thin slice at each end of the squash
- Cut the remaining squash into 1-inch rings
- Remove seeds from each ring with a teaspoon
- Place rings on a parchment-lined baking sheet
- Sprinkle desired spice on top of each ring, or leave plain if preferred
- Place in oven for 15 minutes
- Turn the slices over, then roast for an additional 15 minutes
- Remove from oven and turn over one last time, brushing each ring with maple syrup
- Put back in oven for additional 5 minutes
- Remove from oven and add any desired fillings
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Fillings are optional and you can put in whatever your heart desires.
- In my rings above, I filled my savoury rings with a broccolini/onion/garlic mixture which I water-sauteed and sprinkled with tamari and sesame seeds
- The sweet rings were filled with a pear-cranberry compote that I made when I had too many ripe pears