Maple Roasted Acorn Squash

When it comes to squash, The Mister is highly skeptical.  It's probably due to one memorable in a not-so-good-way faux alfredo sauce that used pureed squash rather than any cream or cheese.  In theory it should have been delicious, in reality the only way we could eat it was to slather it with hot sauce.  Yes, it was that gross.  So I've had to slowly win him back over to the world of squash.  And the one dish that finally did it was Maple Roasted Acorn Squash.  The sugar in the maple syrup and the natural sugars in the squash meld together and caramelize to essentially candy the squash, and it is DE-LISH!  You don't even need to skin the squash as it gets nice and soft.  I made this as a side dish to some baked chicken, and it was so good, I sliced up another acorn squash so we'd have plenty of leftovers!  So put down the pancakes and pick up the acorn squash, as maple syrup has a new BFF!

Maple Roasted Acorn Squash

Ingredients:

1 acorn squash, halved, seeds scooped out and sliced into 1/2" wedges

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Pinch or two coarse ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Toss acorn squash in olive oil and maple syrup, spread evenly onto a rimmed baking sheet and sprinkle pepper evenly over top.  Roast for 20-30 minutes until squash is soft and is starting to turn golden brown.

Serve as a side dish to fish or poultry, or toss with a fresh kale salad (massage that kale!!) with a light vinaigrette and some pomegranate seeds.