(Like most normal people, I often confuse the Swedish potato style Hasselback with Andrew Luck’s backup quarterback, so I made sure to double-check the spellings for this post. If you spot any errors, please mock them in the comments.)
Happily, pumpkins and squash are not on my list of fruits and vegetables to temporarily avoid. I should be eating more roasted squash, but I am only cooking twice a week, and mostly soup. Also noodles: Scroll to the end to see the Spätzle.
The striped butternut I chose because it looked cool developed a soft spot after just a few weeks. Time to go, my friend.
The trick for peeling one of these bad boys is to stab it a few times with a fork, then microwave it for a bit (3 minutes at 1000W) to soften the skin. This one had an impressively thick skin, and I had a Sparschäler, a German tool designed to take off as thin a piece of the outside of a vegetable as possible.
I had to go over it twice, but I got it done, and without peeling the skin off any of my fingers (the Sparschäler has tasted human blood more than once).
The “Hasselback” method just means cutting the thing into small slices that are still attached at their base, and you can pour fats and other flavor-bringers into the slots between slices. Because the squash is larger and harder than potatoes (uh-huh-huh), it got a pre-roast, after being seasoned with salt, pepper, olive oil, and dried sage (next time I will use all the spices in the original recipe).
After a few minutes (and I let them cool slightly before touching them), it was time to slice. When I make potatoes, using one wooden spoon as a guide suffices. Did not work on the butternut. One of my slices went all the way through.
I used two spoons for the second half, and it was brilliant.
And back into the oven for the long roast, while I make the main dish. What I will do next time is leave the melted butter until the last five minutes, with the shredded cheese; most of it got lost in the pan, carried the seasonings with it, and turned brown. I also want to try it with fresh sage, and slivers of cheese instead of shredded.
As promised, the Spätzle, purchased pre-made in the refrigerator section. I riffed a bit off of Spätzle with Chicken in Creamy Bärlauch Sauce, but instead of chicken and herbs, I combined a bunch of leftover stuff in the fridge. Smoked sausage, ham, cream cheese, hard cheese, mozzarella cheese, with some broth and white wine to round out the sauce.
It was real good. The squash was soft but not mushy, easy to fork by the mouthful. Can’t ask for more than that! I’d like to make it again soon.
One down!
