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Roasted Acorn Squash with Calabrian Chili and Lemon over a bed of kale and yogurt

Roasted Acorn Squash with Calabrian Chili and Lemon

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  • Author: Whip & Wander
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 8 servings 1x
  • Category: Sides
  • Method: Oven / Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Mediterranean
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Description

This Roasted Acorn Squash with Calabrian Chili and Lemon starts with wedges of acorn squash brushed with a mixture of spicy Calabrian chilis, lemon, and garlic oil, then roasted until their flesh is tender and their skins are caramelized. I love serving the roasted squash over a bed of thick Greek yogurt (or labneh cheese if preferred) and sauteed kale to help temper the heat from the chilis and make the dish feel extra hearty -- It's also a good excuse to add a loaf of crusty bread to help mop up every creamy, spicy, sweet, and acidic drop of this dish.


Ingredients

Scale

For the roasted acorn squash:

  • 1 large acorn squash (about 2 1/2 lbs)
  • 1-2 tbsp Calabrian chilis in oil*, finely chopped (for very hot use 2 tbsp, for slightly less hot use only 1 tbsp)
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice (I prefer Meyer lemon if available)
  • 2 tsp lemon zest
  • 1 tbsp garlic-infused olive oil -- OR -- 1 tbsp olive oil + 1 clove minced garlic)
  • 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp cracked black pepper

For the sauteed kale and yogurt base:

  • 1 bundle (about 5 oz) of Lacinato kale, freshly washed, deveined and chopped
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
  • 16 oz thick Greek yogurt (may swap for labneh cheese if preferred)

Instructions

For the roasted acorn squash:

  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F / 205 C. Line a baker's half sheet with parchment paper and reserve to the side.
  2. On a sturdy cutting board, carefully trim both the stem end and the very top of the pointy end from the squash. Then turn the squash onto the now wide and flat flesh of the previous stem end and carefully slice the squash in half, from the top down.
  3. Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds from the center of both squash halves, then discard the seeds.
  4. Turn the squash flesh side down and slice into 1 1/2-2 inch wedges. You can generally use the ridges of the squash as a guide, but it's not necessary to follow them.
  5. Transfer the wedges to the reserved baking sheet, flesh side down (other side of flesh exposed), and reserve to the side.
  6. In a small mixing bowl, combine the Calabrian chili, lemon juice and zest, garlic-infused olive oil (or olive oil + minced garlic), and salt. Brush the mixture over the tops of the squash flesh, ensuring that the chilis are dispersed reasonably evenly and the squash has been fully brushed with the chili and garlic oils.
  7. Sprinkle the tops with cracked black pepper and transfer to the oven. Roast for 25 minutes or until the squash flesh is fork-tender and the skin has lightly caramelized. Reserve to the side until ready to assemble.

For the sauteed kale and yogurt base:

  1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the olive oil. Once shimmering, add the kale and stir to combine. If you have just washed your kale and it is slightly damp this will help the kale steam slightly as it cooks resulting in a more tender green. If you have prewashed your kale and it is now dry, I like to add 1-2 tbsp of water to the pan at this time to help the kale steam and tenderize.
  2. Season with salt and continue to stir regularly until the greens are soft and tender.
  3. On a platter, spread the Greek yogurt (or labneh cheese) down in a thick layer. Top with sauteed kale, then top with the reserved roasted acorn squash.

 


Notes

Nutritional information on Whip & Wander is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.

*Calabrian Chilis: You can buy jars of whole peppers which can be chopped for this recipe, or in jars of pre-chopped peppers.


Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/8th of recipe
  • Calories: 131
  • Sugar: 2 g
  • Sodium: 178 mg
  • Fat: 5 g
  • Saturated Fat: 1 g
  • Carbohydrates: 17 g
  • Fiber: 2 g
  • Protein: 7 g
  • Cholesterol: 7 mg