Glazed Honeynut Squash with Herbs and Peanuts
Squash is a vegetable that arrives in fall and winter and it quickly becomes the A List celeb of everyone’s meal plan during the colder months. Everyone… except me. I don’t have anything against squash, it just doesn’t excite me. Kind of like sweet potatoes. And I think that’s the whole problem - they tend to be naturally sweet. I am wired for savory through and through, so sweet-leaning produce falls a bit flat for my taste buds.
But the tricky thing with squash, is that if you don’t acknowledge it’s sweeter profile, and try to steer to only be savory, it tastes out of place, a bit awkward. Like how I felt attending a public school after homeschooling most of my life. So when I decided to develop a squash recipe (an urge brought on just because my local market had honeynut squash and they’re just the cutest littlest things and I CANNOT resist tiny things) I made my peace with the sweet. I knew I had to lean into the sweet otherwise that kinda-off-homeschooler-submerged-in-public-school vibe would keep the recipe from being as delicious as it could be.
I decided to do a glaze. I liked the idea of bourbon because it’s peak fall and bourbon is the bone-warming spirit we’re bringing to the forefront of our home bar. I wanted to get pure maple syrup involved because it adds a slight nuance to the sugar component. Being the woman I am, I immediately decided to make it a little spicy (or a lot spicy, it can swing either way depending on my mood). But then I needed something else… Something that would add a three-dimensional flavor element, enter: fish sauce. I was pondering all the savory things I’ve eaten that involved sweet sticky glazes and all of my favorites have always come from Asian roots and the secret sauce that makes those glazes far superior to any other is: fish sauce.
The Bourbon Fish Sauce Glaze was so damn delicious, that I decided to give it it’s own post so it can be used on more than just squash (the wings, the cabbage, the endless possibilities!) - and all of this came simply out of my lack of self control at the grocery store.
This squash gets roasted, glazed, broiled, and then I heap on cilantro and mint and peanuts and it is sublime. This is EXCELLENT squash. And you can trust me in spite of my obvious bias, because squash is not among my favorite vegetables.
Glazed Honeynut Squash with Herbs and Peanuts
Ingredients
- 4 small to medium honeynut squash, washed, halved and/or quartered lengthwise, seeds removed
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 to 4 tablespoons Bourbon Fish Sauce Glaze
- 1/2 cup cilantro, ends tripped
- 4 to 6 sprigs of mint leaves
- 1/3 roasted peanuts (plain roasted or honey roasted), roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 F degrees.
- Evenly brush all sides of the squash with olive oil. Season lightly with salt and pepper, and place flesh side down on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Place in the oven and roast until fork tender, about 25 to 30 minutes.
- If you haven't made the Bourbon Fish Sauce Glaze yet, go ahead and knock that out while squash cooks - should be ready just in time!
- Once squash is done, remove from the oven and turn on your broiler on high.
- Flip squash over so the flesh side is facing up, and brush generously with the Bourbon Fish Sauce Glaze
- Place glazed squash under broiler for about 5 to 15 minutes (see notes) or until it begins to turn dark golden and caramelize on top.
- Serve with cilantro, mint, peanuts, and remaining glaze on the side.
Notes
If your broiler is aggressive, your squash might be ready to go after just 5 minutes. All of my ovens I've ever had in all my many rentals, have always delivered different cook times. For my current oven, 10 to 15 minutes worked great.
