A very similar dish was the star of my Thanksgiving so I decided to deconstruct it and make it a bit simpler for a more everyday approach. The combination of caramelized honey, savory thyme, toasted walnuts, and sweet acorn squash is a blend of flavors that is difficult to describe. It's wonderful. An extremely easy yet fantastically elegant meal.
This yields a surprisingly large amount of food (one of my favorite things about it) so it's great to serve as a side or keep the deliciousness all to yourself.
1.5 lbs acorn squash, washed and ends trimmed
1 tsp olive oil
2 tsp fresh chopped thyme
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tbsp water
1/3 cup unsalted walnut halves and pieces
Preheat oven to 375F
Carefully cut the acorn squash in half and remove the seeds (the easiest way to do this is to scrape them out with a spoon)
Put them flat side down on a cutting board and slice them into pieces a little bigger than 1/4 inch thick
Drizzle the slices with 1 tsp oil and toss so they are all coated
Spread slices out on a tinfoil lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes
Combine 1 tsp thyme, honey, and water in a dish and whisk to combine
After the acorn squash slices have baked for 15 minutes pull them out of the oven and carefully flip them
Brush each piece with the honey and thyme glaze and bake for another 10-15 minutes
While they are baking toast your walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat (keep a close eye on them so they don't burn, I like to take them off the heat as soon as I can smell them or they get golden brown)
When the acorn squash slices are done baking (a little golden brown and fork tender) top with a pinch of salt, walnuts, and the remaining thyme
Servings 2
Per serving 265 calories
