Twice Baked Honeynut Squash

by LEON BOUTEILLER

We experience a recent resurgence of summer warmth but the leaves turning to color tell a different tale. This is my favorite time of year with cool, crisp mornings and shadows as the arc of the sun lowers each day. The spectacular colors seen in the Berkshires can take your breath away and give a sensation of awe and delight, especially when the hills have escaped the winds of a dying tropical storm. It’s also the end of the harvest season. The forest denizens are fattening up for the cold months ahead while we collect pumpkins, squashes and apples, reminiscent of the past when it was essential to survive the winter.

The squashes in particular, available now, inspire me. I enjoy the honeynut variety, a smaller version of the butternut variety, sweeter and denser. It is a hybrid winter squash bred from butternut and buttercup squash, a recent cultivar developed in the 1980s at Cornell. It entered the market in 2015. Honeynut squash can be used in the same manner as traditional winter squashes. It can be stored after picking but not as long as its parent squashes for it has a thinner skin.

Because of its smaller size, that of a large baking potato, here is a recipe for a twice baked version served in its own shell as a single portion. You may want to sacrifice one squash for every four so the resulting effect is a mounded portion. I call for ricotta and Asiago cheeses in this recipe but substitute mashed tofu will bring it closer to vegan. Add cooked and crumbled bacon but this tends to overwhelm the flavor of the squash.

TWICE BAKED HONEYNUT SQUASH
Yields 6 side portions

Ingredients:

4 honeynut squash, washed and cut in half lengthwise. Seeds removed and discarded
½ cup sweet onion, finely chopped
½ cup ricotta cheese, whole milk or part skim
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
¼ cup grated Asiago cheese
¼ cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds), rough chopped
2 tablespoons fresh sage leaves, chopped
2 teaspoons maple syrup
¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon white pepper

Method:

Lightly oil a baking sheet and place the squash, cut side down, an inch or two apart
Bake in a preheated oven at 400F degrees for 25 minutes until a thin knife pierces easily
Remove from the oven and let cool
When cooled to room temperature, carefully scoop the flesh of six of the halves and all of two into a bowl, leaving ¼ inch thickness in the skin of the six
Mash the scooped flesh well
Meanwhile, melt two tablespoons of the butter in a small sauté pan over a medium heat and cook the onion until soft and beginning to caramelize
Add the cooked onion, ricotta and Asiago cheeses, sage leaves, maple syrup, salt, white pepper and nutmeg to the mashed squash. Mix well
Spoon the mixture into the six remaining shells and set evenly spaced on a baking sheet
Melt the remaining two tablespoons butter, sprinkle the chopped pepitas over each stuffed shell, then drizzle the melted butter evenly over each
Bake in a 375F degrees oven for 25 minutes until heated through and the pepitas are looking toasty
Remove from the oven and serve immediately

This is a very tasty way to serve this squash. Not too much fuss and a nice side for any autumnal meal. Easy to serve as it’s already portioned. I hope you give my new favorite winter squash a try.

Enjoy!