Roasted Squash with Chipotle Pomegranate Dressing

How’s This for a Stunning Thanksgiving Side?

I ran into some pretty winter squash at the grocery store and seeing as this time of year puts me in the mood for these deeper flavors, I bought a couple and gave some thought to what I wanted to do with them. While soup is always an option, I’ve gotta say that I’m not a big fan. There is inevitably something cloying to me about those kinds of soups and after a bite or two, I’m done.

But roasting is another deal altogether. Depending on the variety of squash, peeling isn’t always necessary and that’s a good thing because peeling one of these curved beauties isn’t at the top of my list of fun things to do. And I enjoy eating the tender skins on the thin skinned varieties when they’re roasted. This particular squash is called Carnival, but acorn, delicata, and other varieties would work well in this recipe.

I kept it simple and only seasoned the wedges of squash with salt, pepper, and sweet paprika. A lot of recipes add sweetness in the form of brown sugar, maple syrup, etc., but I don’t think it’s necessary because the squash is inherently sweet on its own. Then I drizzled it with olive oil and roasted the squash in a very hot oven – 500°. 

I went with the high temperature because I like my squash charred on the tips and deeply browned – that’s the sweet spot for flavor. The natural sugars in the squash enable the deep browning and caramelization to take place, while the high temperature keeps them from over cooking by the time they’ve browned. I don’t want the squash to turn to mush by the time it’s browned. They only need 10 – 15 minutes on the first side, before flipping them, seasoning, and another 10 – 15 minutes to finish them off.  This is a quick and easy recipe.

In the meantime, I took a bunch of scallions and sliced them very thinly, lengthwise. I’m not one for most single-use gadgets, but I have this little tool called a negi slicer * that gets this job done quickly and works better than a knife. It costs around $4.00 and is worth every penny. I’ve had it for several years and use it strictly for scallions. 

After they’re sliced, I place them in a bowl of ice water and stash them in the fridge until I serve them. This whole process takes only minutes. As they chill in the ice water, they crisp and curl up into the lovely spirals you see in the photos. These little wisps of scallions are a joy to eat and I knew they’d be great as a crunchy element on the soft squash.

This left only the dressing to be determined and I doubt it could be more simple – 3 ingredients were all it needed. I chopped up a chipotle chili in adobo * and stirred it into a couple tablespoons of pomegranate molasses ,* along with a teaspoon of soy sauce. Talk about delicious. This was going to counter the deep rich flavors of the squash and make it bright and exciting. And if you do as I do and divvy up a can of chipotles in adobo ,* wrapping each one in plastic wrap, and keep them stashed in the freezer, you’ve already got them ready to go. 

After placing the squash on a platter and mounding the scallions in the center, I spooned on the dressing and sprinkled pomegranate seeds (arils) over everything. What a spectacular recipe this turned out to be. It’s got those beautiful deep flavors of the squash, topped with tart, sweet, and spicy dressing, which balances out the richness of the squash, and then the scallions and pomegranate seeds are simply the icing on the cake.

Knowing that I would be posting this here on my blog, I decided to speed up the time frame and get this to you sooner, rather than later, because I realized this would be a perfect side dish for Thanksgiving. It’s nice to serve something a little different, along with all the other well loved traditional dishes. It keeps things interesting, right? Plus, it’s festive looking, but most importantly, it tastes so good.