"It is well to remember that the entire population of the universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others." A.Holmes

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Whole Roasted Cricket Ball Squash~ Jamie Oliver Friday

My husband's vegetable garden produced 8 acorn squashes. We love acorn squash so I decided to try Jamie Oliver's recipe for them. We are pretty much at the end of our fresh garden produce supply, but there are still carrots and 1 hardy lettuce plant if I am in the mood for a slightly bitter tasting lettuce. Isn't this a pretty dish of squash? I followed Jamie's recipe completely, including side salad and garnish of goat cheese. So here is the recipe for~ Whole Roasted Cricket Ball Squash
  • 4 gem or small acorn squash
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 level teaspoon coriander seeds
  • a pinch of ground cinnamon
  • 8 sun-dried tomatoes in oil
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • a large handful of arugula, washed and spun dry ( I used arugula in a large box of baby salad greens from Costco)
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 lemon
  • 9 ounces tasty goat's cheese or feta cheese
"Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Slice off the top part of the squash, where the stalk comes out, leaving you with a lid for each squash. Please do this carefully-no slipping! Scoop out the seeds and discard them. Crush up all the herbs and spices in a pestle and mortar or Flavor Shaker until ground to a powder. Drain the sun-dried tomatoes reserving the oil. Drizzle a little of the oil into each squash and use your fingers to smear it around the insides. Season the inside of each squash with salt and pepper followed by a sprinkling of the spice mixture. Finely chop up the sun-dried tomatoes and add these to the squash, giving each one a little mix around. Place lid on top of each squash, place in a baking dish and roast in the pre-heated oven for around 45 minutes to an hour until the flesh inside is soft." "Take your squash out of the oven. I like to let the squash cool down for a little while I simply dress the arugula with a pinch of salt and pepper, a drizzle of good olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice. Place a whole squash onto each of your serving plates . Cut up the goat's cheese and place some on each plate. Serve with the dressed arugula and a teaspoon for scooping out the incredible flavors." "P.S. I like the fact that there's something lovely and simple about the recipe above, but there are lots of variations that can be introduced to it-you could try stuffing the squash with sauteed mushrooms, cheese or bacon." Jamie Oliver My husband and I were not impressed with the taste of this squash dish. We did taste it Jamie's way, then promptly added butter to the squash. It was tasty with the tomatoes and herbs, but I think I will continue preparing squash with butter and serve brown sugar on the side to sprinkle in. I have never served acorn squash this way, as a bowl with a lid and I very much like the presentation...so recipe? I will not make again, but I will be serving my squash this way many more times!

19 comments:

Mary Bergfeld said...

I love the sun-dried tomatoes in your recipes. This looks and sounds delicious.

Julie Harward said...

Me too...I love baked squash with brown sugar and cinnimon. We love spagetti squash a lot, always with butter and salt and pepper! Come say hi :D

Anonymous said...

I have never eaten acorn squash but I love the presentation.

KathyB. said...

Mary, let me know if you make this, I think we love butter so much we were unable to appreciate baked squash without it. Butter did make all the difference for us, and after adding the butter, it was wonderful.

Julie,yes! Butter, buter, butter. I am sorry my daughter , who is seriously lactose intolerant cannot enjoy the butter, but she would really like the olive oil and tomatoes in the baked squash.

Mildred, you should try acorn squash at least once.It is easy to bake and almost everyone likes it with buter and brown sugar!

KathyB. said...

Mildred, I mean BUTTER and brown sugar!

Susie said...

Well the presentation did look pretty even if it wasn't up to ya'lls standards. Sometimes we have to add our own little touches.

Kathy, I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Shelley said...

I've never tried acorn squash but now I'm thinking I'm missing something and I need to!

Connie said...

It's Friday. Time to see what's cooking at Kathy's house. :D I have never made acorn squash, but I have made butternut squash. I put butter and brown sugar on it just the way you mentioned in your post. I have never fixed it any other way though.

Anonymous said...

Kathy, as you know, in our household squash is only used in making bread and that isn't Acorn squash. I was not given the taste buds to enjoy squash (beets, brocolli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, cooked carrots, cooked cabbage or cooked peas.) Good thing I'm not a vegetarian!

Your sis Joni

Wilson Clan said...

Hello Kathy! I've been meaning to post a comment for a while! I absolutely love Jamie Oliver. His recipes always sound so delicious! I'm loving the fact that you and your hubby are enjoying his cookbook...and are sharing the experiences! :)

Mary said...

Hi, Kathy. It looked very pretty.

Looking forward to the next Cooking With Jamie.

Still struggling with the video, by the way. I am not sharp with those types of things.

Have a great weekend!

KathyB. said...

Susie, thank-you. I was disappointed because i do love acorn squash and most of Jamie's recipes. he writes in the book that this is a popular dish in a restaurant he eats at...

Shelley, you should! We like it with butter, and also with brown sugar added to it. My chickens like the squash skin when we're finished!

Daisy, I love butternut squash that way too! Yum!

Joni, I still cannot stomach beets, peas ( unless raw) or any type of kidney, lima, or some such beans which is probably why a lot of Mexican foods don't appeal to me, but squash and Brussels sprouts, love em'.

Wilson Clan, we'll have to make one of his recipes the next time we get together with you all. Baby Wilson is moving on out of the baby phase....he'll be walking when we see you next!

Mary, you should see my husband and I as we try to figure these things out, well...maybe you shouldn't see us..the two of us being frustrated together is not a pretty sight...and thanks!

Wobegon Cottage said...

I suppose there is something besides butter and brown sugar you could use in or on the squash but I have never had anything else. I am learning to like lots of winter vegetables now that I live in the DEEP FREEZE...minnesota

Tom Bailey said...

It has been years since I have had things like this. They look great. I stumbled across your blog.

commoncents said...

Great post! I really like your blog!! I looks delicious!!!!

Common Cents
http://www.commoncts.blogspot.com

ps. Link Exchange??

Jo said...

I love squash, just baked simply in the oven with butter and salt and pepper. I have never tried it with brown sugar, but I love brown sugar on yams, so I bet it would be delicious. Thanks for the suggestion.

(I always get hungry when I visit you...) *heh*

KathyB. said...

Alice ( Wobegon Cottage), You are a very good cook and baker and I think you can make anything taste pretty good, especially winter veggies.

Tom Bailey, thank-you! They were good, especially when we added butter!

Commoncents,thanks!

Jo, I have never, until this recipe, added salt and pepper to acorn squash, I think I might try just that with butter next time- we have a few squash left over from our garden.

BT said...

Oh what an exciting looking dish. I would add butter too. I'm not always keen on Jamie Oliver's dishes, but this certainly looks gorgeous.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Kathy .. Your Cedar Pond site is lovely .. and I just love the picture of your herd - what are the called?

I have just done a post for my blog - please click over, where I've recommended any readers who are interested to click across to see your pictures etc.

The blog post explains why I found you.

We had these squash in south africa, and they'd be delicious stuffed with mince meat topped with cheese .. pre-cook the squash first - loosening the flesh. Also cooked with the goats cheese, pine nuts etc would be good too. I love them just plain with butter as you've suggested.

Have a really good Christmas - looks like you'll have fun ..
All the very best - Hilary Melton-Butcher
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