Sweet Potato Squash smells just like pumpkin...

Sweet Potato Squash

I had never heard of or seen sweet potato squash(aka Delicata squash). I had only decided to get it because of a few factors. One because it was locally grown (according to the sign outside the grocery store locally grown means in "Ontario" but I have a feeling it was closer than just the province I live in because of where I live and the farm land that surrounds it.), and two because it's almost autumn (remember just because it's September doesn't mean it's really fall till the 22-23 of the month :) ) and squash is in abundance and I need to learn how to make more dishes with this wonderful plant.

Now I got lucky and because it was locally grown the nice people who either harvested or the people who got them at the store put a nice little sticker on the outside of the squash telling what kind it was and a very easy way to cook it.

Sweet Potato Squash
Pre-heat oven to 350F. Cut the sweet potato squash in half length wise and scoop out the seeds and guts. I don't know if these seeds are like other squash where you can roast them and turn them into a snack but if I find out for sure, I'll do it with my other one. This is when I noticed a very familiar smell to this little squash. It smelled almost exactly like pumpkin! the inside looked like pumpkin to (even the seeds!). I felt like it was almost Halloween and I had just opened up a pumpkin to carve! Unfortunately this didn't last long because I needed to get this cooking for dinner. So I cut small thin pieces of butter (the sticker said to brush melted butter onto the flesh of the squash, I didn't want to melt butter that was going to be melted anyways :P ) and salted and peppered it. The other option it suggested was to use brown sugar, which is what I'm used to with acorn squash and would have made it much sweeter. I then set each half on a baking sheet and let it cook in the oven for about 45 minutes - an hour.

The hubby was pretty apprehensive about trying it till I took a fork and scraped some of the flesh out of the shell (can be served in the shell or scrape shell and just put it on the plate, another option is to smash it like potatoes) and told him to take a bite. He looked surprised that it actually tasted good. His words were "It's good! It does taste like sweet potato!" Lucky for me he enjoyed it. The little one on the other hand of course said "I don't like it," and tried to get away with only eating it with a glass of milk to wash it down.
Sweet Potato Squash

This would be fine if he didn't say after he finishes the milk and before he finishes the food that he was full. He even thought he'd be clever and say "But I want strong bones!" I then countered with the fact that a serving of winter squash (1 cup) has 3% calcium, 33% vitamin C, 214% vitamin A, 6g of fiber, etc. Realizing I was talking to a 9 year old, I then said "It does some of the same stuff as milk and more by keeping you from getting sick and keeps you healthy. But if you want milk after you finish it you can have a glass."
Sweet Potato Squash


I don't think this made much of a difference to him, but for those of you that are not wanting to eat your squash, find a way to cook it so you like it and remember what great things it does for you health wise!

16 comments:

Divina Pe said...

That's interesting. I've never seen a sweet potato squash. It's really tempting just looking at the photo and something so simple can taste really, really good. :)

Angie said...

I've never heard of this either, but it looks great!

Gwen said...

Thanks for this. I have two of them right now, that I also bought b/c they were locally grown. I was wondering what they'd taste like and what to do with them. I will try your simple method. Any news on the seeds?

Unknown said...

Divina - I loved how simple it was to make. Thank you.

Angie - I was pretty curious just because I'd never heard of it, but it turned out great!

Gwen - I have yet to do anything with the seeds, because I haven't made them again yet (will be doing so some time this week but in a different way), but I will definatly mention somthing.

Though I have found that most squash seeds tend to be like pumpkin from what I've read so far.

Dawn0fTime said...

Yum! You're making me hungry! I've never seen that variety of squash, but I might have to grab some acorn squash on my way home today.

swirl960 said...

Thanks for the post, I just bought one a few days ago and I had no idea what to do with it. I just bought it because it looked interesting and it said sweet potato. After googling types of sweet potato with no luck, I decided to try sweet potato squash and found this. Yey! and a recipe just what I was looking for. Thanks!

Sara said...

I was just wondering if you ever tried those seeds. I was tempted to cook them myself when I saw how much they resembled pumpkin seeds, but I ended up not going down that road. However, I am interested in if the seeds are worth cooking or not :)

Unknown said...

Sara - Yes, I did try the seeds and they came out just like pumpkin seeds! I like to toss mine in about a tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with a bit of salt, then roast them. I can't remember how long it takes but they are a perfect salty snack!

Amanda said...

Thanks! I just got 2 of these in my CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box. Have you tried starting them in the microwave and finishing in the oven? I rarely have 45-60 min to cook dinner and thought that would speed up the bake time.

G'town Laur said...

Thanks for the info! Just picked up two at the local farm market today and had never heard of them. Teenage girl @ counter when asked if she knew how to cook it "Um, I just know it's squash". Gee, thanks! I'm hoping my baby enjoys it as much as the butternut squash...I know I will!

Anonymous said...

DAWN
I like them better then acorn squash.

Anonymous said...

350 for 8 minutes for the seeds.

Anonymous said...

I've prepared them in the microwave as well as in the oven. 4 minutes in the micro... Very delicious squash, cooks quickly too. Not very much flesh as compared to most other squash.

Anonymous said...

Also tried it for the first time and liked it. It is more like butternut squash than sweet potato, i.e. lighter in starch, which is good.

Anonymous said...

That is not a sweet potato squash. Its a delicata.

Unknown said...

Which is also known as sweet potato squash or bohemian squash. But thank you for letting me know the other name it goes by :)

 

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