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Today I am sharing my Northwest Delicata Squash Boats recipe! Don’t you just love sides you can eat with your hands? Get outta here with those knives and forks. If you want a recipe where you actually have to use that stuff, check out my Vegan Golubtsi Inspired Autumn Cabbage Rolls where you have to use both!
Delicata squash is, hands down, my favorite cold weather squash. I’m also partial to the sliced, caramelized version many people oddly compare to fries. I don’t think they taste like fries at all. But the seasoning (ahem, salt!) and combination of the sweet caramelization of the squash make it the perfect healthy treat mid-fall.
For this Northwest Delicata Squash Boats recipe, I wanted to make something “cute” with a fun presentation. Since it’s autumn, and everyone seems to like stuffed everything, I thought it would be fun to share this just in time for Friendsgiving (or Thanksgiving).
This Northwest Delicata Squash Boats uses ingredients are seasonal and locally grown in the Pacific Northwest. These Oregon-grown delicata squash are filled with a fried rice filling full of garlic, carrots, treviso radicchio and an accompanying persimmon and apple sauce.
So how do we make our delicata squash boats?! Easy!
First we have to acknowledge the usual: Seasoning is important. This blog is not for those who intentionally refuse to season their food. There are those who truly can’t. Then there are those who truly won’t. Do your research and, while you’re at it, throw out any packaged soups if you’re that concerned.
So to start, we take our delicata squash and cut them in half lenthwise. My delicata squash are from Dancing Roots Farm.
We coat them with olive oil and salt appropriately.
After salting them (you can’t see it but they’re seasoned above), we bake them in the oven for 45 minutes at 350° F. Some people like to flip them over so that the meat touches the pan (so no parchment paper) but for this recipe, I personally like to be able to cook the meat somewhat uniformly by having them all face upwards.
While the delicata squash is baking, we start our ripe Fuyu persimmon and apple sauce by chopping up some peeled persimmons and apples.
In a medium saucepan with olive oil coating the bottom, we cook them on medium heat for 3-4 minutes to break them down a little and then continue to cook them the way we would applesauce. We then add half a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, half a teaspoon of Saigon cinnamon, a tiny bit of fresh cracked black pepper and salt to taste. We salt to taste as this is a naturally sweet sauce. We let this cook at a low simmer for ten minutes. Mash as we go so that it’s only semi chunky.
While the delicata squash is still baking and the persimmon and apple sauce is simmering on low, we make our fried rice filling.
So, just a heads up, I tried to make this as simple and as seasonal as possible but these would taste even better with caramelized onions. Just an option!
In a large pan with avocado oil or some other oil with a high smoke point, we fry up our chopped garlic, carrots, radicchio and fennel before adding in two cups of cooked white rice and a handful of torn cilantro and frying for a few minutes more until the flavors come togther.
And, as always, salt your fried rice!
When your squash is done, remove from the oven and let cool. Let everything cool before assembling.
Assembling our Northwest Delicata Squash Boats is pretty simple. Take a delicata squash half and fill it with the rice filling and persimmon and apple sauce (order is at your discretion). And that’s it! Enjoy.
Northwest Delicata Squash Boats
Tasty and autumnal Pacific Northwest Delicata Squash Boats recipe that uses local, seasonal ingredients.
Ingredients
Delicata squash boats:
- 2 ripe delicata squash, sliced in half lengthwise, gutted and seeded
- Olive oil to coat
- ½ a tablespoon of salt to season all four boats
Persimmon Apple Sauce:
- Olive oil to coat bottom of saucepan
- 1 ripe Fuyu persimmon, peeled and roughly chopped into half inch pieces
- 1 apple, peeled and roughly chopped into half inch pieces
- ½ teaspoon Saigon cinnamon
- Few cranks of fresh cracked black pepper (omit if not fresh)
- ½ tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
- Salt to taste
Fried Rice Filling (will yield extra for tasty leftovers):
- 4 cloves of garlic, crushed and roughly chopped
- ½ of a fennel bulb, roughly chopped
- 1 whole radicchio head, thinly sliced
- 2 cups cooked white rice
- Handful of torn cilantro leaves, some stems okay
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and lay down the four halves of delicata squash equally, meat side facing up. Coat tops and sides with olive oil. Liberally and evenly sprinkle with salt. Bake on middle rack for 45 minutes.
- While the squash is baking, bring a medium saucepan to medium heat and add olive oil. When hot, add the persimmon and apple pieces along with the apple cider vinegar, Saigon cinnamon and fresh cracked black pepper. Mix throughly and Cook for 3-4 minutes. Bring to a boil then immediately bring to a low simmer and let simmer on low for 10-15 minutes, stirring to mix and avoid any sticky bottom. Appropriately salt to taste.
- While the squash is still roasting and sauce is simmering, bring a large pan to medium heat and add oil to coat bottom of pan. Add the chopped garlic, radicchio and fennel with a teaspoon of salt and cook for 3-4 minutes, careful not to brown. Then add the cooked rice and handful of chopped cilantro leaves and continue cooking for another 3-4 minutes for the flavors to come together. Appropriately salt to taste.
- When everything is done, let cool out in the open.
- To assemble, take one squash half which is now a “boat” and fill it with the rice filling and the sauce in any order.
Notes
- Make sure to salt to taste appropriately. If it is “bland”, then it hasn’t been seasoned enough with salt.
