Bon Appétit (October 2014)
If this time of year were a book-turned-movie-starring-Ben-Affleck-and-Rosamund-Pike, it'd be Gone Grill.
Yes, it's not even cold yet in Our Nation's Capital, but we've already said goodbye to our grill and hello to the oven. Sorry, grill. What can we say? Our love is seasonal and fickle and you did the best you could to make it work. Someone else in another hemisphere will love you more this time of year than we ever could.
But now we've moved on to our perennial fall/winter obsession: oven-roasting just about anything and everything. It is some combination of our love for caramelized vegetables plus our laziness and the simplicity of tossing a bunch of stuff with oil and throwing it in the oven that really gets us going when the temperatures dip.
And this recipe for Roasted Acorn Squash with Dates and Thyme is just the kind of roasting recipe that we like: completely simple and incredibly flavorful.
There are two kinds of oil used, with both olive oil and coconut oil, which gives the dish a little bit of sweetness. The squash is sliced 1/2-inch thick, which allows it to roast quickly (we recommend keeping a close eye on this dish, depending on how thinly you slice the squash). The smashed garlic crisps and sweetens in the oven (we could seriously eat a pound of garlic roasted in this way -- it's like candy). Dates, added at the end, give another hint of sweetness.
This, to us, is the perfect kind of fall recipe.
Fire up your ovens, and let's get to roasting....
What's up first in your kitchen?
Roasted Squash with Dates and Thyme
Bon Appétit (October 2014), recipe by Alison Roman
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Nutritional Information available at BonAppetit.com
(This photo: Ture Lillegraven for Bon Appétit)
INGREDIENTS
3 small acorn squash (about 3 lb.), scrubbed, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
1/2 bunch thyme
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil or unsalted butter
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 dates, pitted, quartered
Flaky sea salt (such as Maldon)
PREPARATION
Preheat oven to 425°. Toss squash, thyme, garlic, olive oil, and coconut oil in a large baking dish; season with kosher salt and pepper. Roast, tossing occasionally, until just tender, 40–45 minutes. Add dates; toss to coat. Roast until squash are very tender and dates are soft, 12–15 minutes.
Arrange squash, dates, garlic, and thyme on a platter, spoon any oil in dish over squash, and sprinkle with sea salt.
