Pan Roasted Delicata With a Kick

Pan Roasted Squash with a Kick

I would be hard pressed to ever pick my favorite winter squash. They’re all so yummy. Delicata squash are small and easy to work with. Kabocha squash are rich, sweet, and meaty. Acorn squash are smooth and sweet. I’ve yet to try a banana squash, but I will soon. The only problem with those banana squash is that all the ones I see at the farmers markets are about 15 pounds! The one we saw last weekend was over 2 feet long!

We tend to get in a bit of a rut with cooking winter squash though. We’ll cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, and roast it with butter and brown sugar. That’s certainly a very good way to eat squash, but it can be a bit boring. Since we’re focused on recipes you can make for Thanksgiving these days, we thought we’d make something a bit different with delicata squash. And, since the oven is usually busy with the turkey on Thanksgiving, we thought we’d create a dish that could be made completely on the stovetop.

Pan Roasted Delicata with a Kick

• 1 large or 2 small delicata squash, seeded and chopped into 1 inch chunks
• 2 Tbsp butter or oil
• 2-3 Tbsp Zane and Zack’s Honey Chipotle Hot Sauce

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter.
2. Add the chopped delicata squash and cook, stirring regularly, for 10 minutes.
3. Mix in the Zane and Zack’s Honey Chipotle Hot Sauce and cook until the squash is tender and caramelized, about another 20 minutes.
4. Serve.

Look at that caramelization!

Notes: Really, this is almost a serving suggestion rather than a recipe. We love Zane and Zack’s sauces. You can find them at the Ballard Farmers Market on Sundays where they’ll let you sample their wares. They have excellent products and they love to talk about their products. They believe in quality ingredients.

This dish was so good, we barely had enough for the photo shoot. We started eating the chunks of delicata (skin and all) right out of the pan. The delicata is sweet alone, but cooking in butter and the Honey Chipotle sauce produces a rich caramelization that is super sweet and spicy at the same time. However, the hot sauce isn’t so hot that your guests will end up uncomfortable or sweating bullets.

Since this dish cooks on the stove, you don’t have to worry about getting the turkey out of the oven and keeping it warm while your side dishes cook.