Alright, let’s talk about my adventure with baking a sweetmeat squash. I saw these things at the grocery store and thought, “Why not give it a try?” I’d never cooked one before, but hey, how hard could it be, right?
First off, I grabbed the squash and gave it a good wash. Gotta get all that dirt and grime off. Then came the fun part – chopping it in half. Now, let me tell you, these things are tough! I wrestled with it for a bit, but finally got it split down the middle. Success!
Next up, I scooped out all the seeds and that stringy stuff inside. Kinda like cleaning out a pumpkin, but a bit messier. Once that was done, I drizzled some olive oil over the cut sides and sprinkled on some salt and pepper. Nothing fancy, just keeping it simple.
I preheated my oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit – pretty standard for roasting veggies. Then, I placed the squash halves cut-side down on a baking sheet. Into the oven they went!
- Wash the squash
- Cut it in half
- Scoop out the seeds
- Season with oil, salt, and pepper
- Roast at 400F
I let them bake for about 40-50 minutes. You gotta check on them and poke them with a fork every now and then. Once the fork went in easy, I knew they were done. The smell in my kitchen was amazing by this point – all sweet and savory.
Once they were out of the oven, I let them cool for a few minutes. I’m not a fan of burning my mouth! Then, I just scooped out the flesh with a spoon. It was super soft and kinda mashed, like a sweet potato but with its own unique flavor.
What I Did With It
I ate some of it straight up, but I also mashed some with a bit of butter and a pinch of cinnamon. Oh man, it was good! I even saved some to use in a soup later that week. You can get pretty creative with these squashes – they’re super versatile.
Overall, it was a fun little cooking experiment. And not a disaster, so I’m calling it a win. I’ll definitely be making sweetmeat squash again. If you’ve never tried it, you totally should! It’s easy to cook, and tastes great. Plus you can save it by packing it into hot sterilized jars, covering it with liquid, and processing it at 10 pounds of pressure for about 30 to 40 minutes.