This roasted Hasselback butternut squash is an elegant oven meal. Tender, buttery and sweet squash topped with crispy bacon and served with a crunchy coleslaw salad. Another eye-catcher dish, perfect for cold months and the holiday season, too. Serve it as main or as a delicious side dish.
I am sure you know the Hasselback potatoes. Right? They are super simple to make, cute, fun and delicious. Well, let me tell you, not only potatoes but also a pumpkin can be prepared in Hasselback style. So easy and absolutely gorgeous.
Squashes and pumpkins are always a great idea. Besides being delicious, nutritious, healthy and beautiful, they are also very, very versatile. In fact, you can put them in soups, stews and risottos. You can make lovely sauces, add them to meat and poultry or on pizza, too. And, you can even make a pumpkin dessert. Amazing! You might love these: pumpkin Feta Flammkuchen, gourmet pumpkin black spaghetti, vegetarian couscous stuffed pumpkin, pumpkin spice cream dessert or a classic mac and cheese.
Roasted pumpkin as main or side dish
On one hand, if using the whole pumpkin, serve it as a main dish. In combination with a crunchy and creamy coleslaw salad, it makes a wonderful fulfilling meal. You can make your favourite salad, add some toasted nuts or drizzle it with some sweet or spicy dressing. You will love it.
On the other hand, roasted Hasselback butternut pumpkin is a great addition to any main dish. For instance, roasted chicken, sticky spare-ribs or egg stuffed meatloaf.
Preparing the squash is quite easy. Firstly, you peel it and scrape out the seeds. Secondly, you hasselback it. In other words, you slice it into 3-4 mm thick slices, stopping 1-1,5 cm before the bottom. To prevent from cutting through it, you can help yourself by placing chopsticks on each side parallel to it. Thirdly, roast it.
Cutting it into Hasselback style gives it an elegant, special and gorgeous look. It turns a lovely simple dish into a stunning dish, worthy of being served as a family Sunday lunch, any holiday meal or even as Christmas dinner.
If you like the recipe, if you make the recipe or if you have any new ideas on how to improve or change it, let me know in the comments section below or alternatively share your photos and reactions with me on Instagram (@Passionspoon), Facebook or Twitter (@PassionSpoon1). Simply use the hashtag #passionspoon in your posts. I would love to see them! (wink)
Ingredients for two portions of roasted Hasselback butternut squash:
- 1/4 white cabbage head (shredded)
- 1-2 carrot (grated)
- small green bell pepper
- 1 red onion (thinly sliced)
- 1 butternut squash (deseeded, peeled)
- olive oil
- 3 slices of bacon or prosciutto
- salt and pepper
To begin, preheat the oven to 200º C. Then, wash and halve the butternut squash lengthwise (keep one half for another recipe, like this spinach-quinoa stuffed squash). Scrape the seeds out of the pumpkin and peel it.
Place it, cut side down, with a long side towards you, on a cutting board and align one wooden spoon or chopsticks lengthwise on each long side of it.
Then, with a sharp knife, carefully cut into the squash, only to the wooden spoons or chopsticks, making about 3 mm thick slices.
Next, transfer the squash onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper, drizzle with some olive oil and sprinkle with some sea salt. Cover the squash with aluminium foil and put to bake for 40-50 minutes or until tender.
In the meantime, prepare the coleslaw salad. Shred the white cabbage and wash and grate the carrots. Wash, deseed and slice the pepper into thin strips. Combine everything in a bowl, drizzle with olive oil and vinegar, add a pinch of salt and pepper. As of last, add the mayonnaise and toss to combine evenly. Then, cover with foil and set aside.
Once the Hasselback butternut squash is tender, remove the foil, add the bacon slices next to it onto the tray and push back in the oven for 15-20 more minutes or until golden brown. After the bacon is all curled up, remove it from the oven, set it on a paper towel and let it crisp up.
Finally, arrange the coleslaw salad on a larger serving plate and carefully transfer the roasted Hasselback butternut squash on top of it. Finish with scattering the chopped crispy bacon on the top.
Enjoy.
