Roasted Winter Squash / Dovlecei copti

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to medium. Wash the shell of the squash.

2. Cut the squash in half. Scrape the seeds and stringy center out of each half and discard.

3. Cut the squash into quarters or eighths (depending how large it is – the larger the pieces, the longer they will take to cook).

3. Rub the inside of each piece of squash with butter, salt and pepper.

4. Place the pieces of squash, shell down on a greased baking sheet.

5. Bake in a medium oven until soft – about 40 min. When done, the squash should cut easily with a spoon, and if the pieces are large, they may start to fall apart. While roasting, check the squash occasionally, if it starts to burn on the bottom, turn down the heat. You may cover the pan with tin foil for moister squash.

6. Serve squash slices hot, or scrape out the flesh and mash before serving.

                                                              

Notes: If you can find hard winter squashes, Romania has some great ones. Ask at your farmers market, squash is unpopular among most Romanians, and many farmers have it, but don’t bring it to market. There is a large bright orange heart-shaped squash, which has sweet, moist, bright orange flesh. Another great variety is smaller and pear or hourglass shaped – it may be dark green or orange on the outside, depending on when it was harvested. The flesh of this second squash is lighter and nutty in flavor. The most common winter squash are round and grayish, with orange or green tones. They vary in size and are unpredictable – though some are fantastic. Ask the farmer if they can describe the flavor to you before buying.

 

Variations: For a bit of kick – sprinkle squash slices with paprika and hot chili powder. For sweeter squash, omit the pepper, and replace it with cinnamon and sugar. These are also good additions to mashed squash.