Hassleback Squash with Garlic-Sage Butter
A simple way to make butternut squash shine as a main event. It's simple but beautiful, a great one to serve at a dinner party to feed a crowd
Ingredients
- 1 large butternut squash
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt and black pepper
For the Butter:
- 50 g (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
- 8-9 sage leaves
- 3 cloves garlic , crushed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
- Cut the very top off the squash. Cut the squash in half from the tip to the base. Peel the squash to remove the beige outer skin. Scoop the seeds out of each squash half. Place onto a baking sheet, cut side down, and brush with half of the oil. Sprinkle with some salt and black pepper.
- Bake the squash for 15 minutes to help it soften.
- Remove from the oven and lift the squash halves onto a chopping board. Place chopsticks on either side of one squash half, this will help prevent you cutting all the way through the squash. Deeply score the squash cutting across its width - you want to cut quite far down but not all the way through.
- Place back onto the baking sheet, brush with the remaining oil and put back into the oven for a further 30-40 minutes until soft and it's just starting to darken in places.
For the butter:
About 10 minutes before your squash has finished roasting start making the butter:
- In a small frying pan or pot, melt the butter over a medium-low heat. Once the butter has melted keep add the sage leaves and keep cooking until the sage leaves are darkened and crisp. Add the crushed garlic and stir over the heat for 30 seconds then remove from the heat.
Serve:
- Spoon the warm sage butter over the hot, roasted squash. Serve immediately.
Notes
- To make this vegan: replace the butter with vegan butter.
- Serving suggestion: You can have this as the 'main event' instead of meat in a roast dinner (i.e. with roasted potatoes, gravy, peas and carrots). You can also serve it mezze style with hummus, flatbreads and some greens!