Earlier this fall, I started topping it with sesame seeds, scallions, and my sesame ginger dressing to make a composed side dish, and I’m still obsessed with the combination. It’s so simple to prepare, and it has such a rich flavor.
Previously, I’ve blended it into pasta sauce and simmered it into soup.īut it wasn’t until I tried Josh’s Thanksgiving side dish that I really fell in love with roasted kabocha squash. In Korea, it’s cooked into porridge and mashed into salad. In Japanese cooking, it’s often simmered in a flavorful dashi stock to make Kabocha no Nimonoor fried and served as part of vegetable tempura. “I just roasted it,” he said.Īlso known as Japanese pumpkin, kabocha squash is a wonderfully versatile winter squash variety. When it came out of the oven, the dense, bright orange flesh was smooth and creamy, with a sweet, nutty, and caramelized flavor.
He cut it into wedges and cooked it with the skin still on. Last fall, my brother-in-law, Josh, made the most amazing roasted kabocha squash for Thanksgiving.