Recipes
Second course
Roast
Annaliese's roasted butternut squash with cranberry and pear accents

Annaliese's roasted butternut squash with cranberry and pear accents

Roast

Roasting

I wanted to explore a savory but slightly sweet version of roasted butternut squash. At first I tried pairing the squash with parsnip, but the results were disappointing. After making mrslarkin's wonderful caramel pears this weekend, I had some extra pears leftover. And this led to the pairing that worked out well for this new recipe! Pears are not as easy to switch up as apples, though, because they can break down so fast while baking. A crisp, firm pear will work best. The Barlett holds up well, though I sometimes prefer the flavors of other varieties more. Pears can vary tremendously even among their same varieties. If the pear does become mush, the taste will still be pretty delightful. But to avoid this plight altogether, I am suggesting a staggered roasting along with a careful eye. What I want to achieve here is a crunchy burst of flavor along the top and sides of the squash. Ground sumac lends a sour lemony, nutty crunch perfect for this. Demerara sugar and ground pink peppercorns further enhance this crunch. Maple syrup and cranberries finish off the sweet/sour layering. For a savory dessert you can increase the maple syrup and serve with a dollop of creme fraiche.