One of the items in this week’s Urban Organic box was a buttercup squash. I had never had a buttercup squash before, but it looked very similar to an acorn and kabocha squash, so I treated it the same way. We were planning a simple macrobiotic dinner (steamed collard greens, millet, roast squash and tofu), so I wanted to get the squash in the oven early, since it takes the longest–usually about 30 minutes.
To roast a squash (and the process works the same for any hard-skinned winter squash), cut in half, scrape out seeds, and place cut side down on a lined baking sheet and bake in a 400F oven for about 30 minutes, or until the top gets moist and glossy, and the skin gets soft.
Cut Squash
On the way into the oven
Done when the surface gets shiny
And the inside gets soft
Since it had such nice seeds inside, I thought it would be great to roast them. Then we can use them on a salad, or as a topping for rice…
I picked off most of the pulp of the squash from the seeds. Honestly, though, I think I could have done a MUCH better job of cleaning the seeds—I got a little impatient, and I think the roasted seeds took a hit because of it. Oh well. I set a heavy bottomed skillet over med/high heat and threw in the seeds. I continuously tossed, adding a drop of olive oil when the pan started to get to dry and the little bits of squash were burning (I would have been able to avoid this had a patiently cleaned and air dried the seeds). After about 8 minutes, they had browned and I tossed in some salt, then transferred the seeds to a paper towel. When they fully cooled, they never got as super-crunchy as I wanted them to. I will have to try it again with the next squash.
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Update: The squash seeds turned out being excellent in a salad with Valencia orange vinaigrette, delicious!