Make This: Squash, and How To Cook It

And find happiness

This season I give thanks to the squash overlords - their work has delivered to us a world in which beautiful, delicious squash is now widely available. For years the only option I can recall was the classic Butternut - a lovely squash for soup making and more. But perhaps I wanted more.

A recent stroll through my local grocery stores has yielded an opportunity to cook varieties ranging from Honeynut, Acorn, Kabocha and Red Kuri. It’s a veritable squash fiesta! Outside of these, a favorite in our kitchen is another common variety that’s easy to find: the Delicata Squash.

I love Delicata for its (often but not always) diminutive size - once the seeds are removed it slices into petite, manageable half moons. This makes it less appealing as puree or soup, and much more attractive as the anchor for some seriously great sides and salads. When I bring it into my own kitchen I find myself leaning on the same cooking method - a high heat treatment that renders a chewy, caramelized bite delicious on its own, and tremendous as the star player in a hearty autumnal salad.