Honey Roasted Honeynut Squash
Honeynut squash halved, roasted cut-side down until the edges caramelize, then glazed with honey butter for the last ten minutes and brushed again once it is off the heat. Small squash, thin skin, no peeling, and a side dish that takes about an hour start to finish.
Ingredients
For the Squash
- 4 honeynut squash (about 8 oz each)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Glaze and Finish
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or more to taste
- 2 tablespoons toasted pepitas
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- Flaky sea salt, for finishing
From the Hive
- 3 tablespoons Go Honey 100% Pure & Raw Honey
Instructions
Heat the Oven
Set a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 425°F. Line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment, which keeps the sugars from welding to the pan later.
Halve and Seed
Trim the stem, then cut each squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Honeynut is its own variety, not butternut with honey in it, and its skin is thin enough to eat, so there is no need to peel.
Roast Cut Side Down
Rub the cut faces and skins with olive oil, season with the kosher salt and pepper, and lay the halves cut side down with an inch of space between them. Roast 25 to 30 minutes, until the undersides are deeply browned and a paring knife slides into the neck with no resistance. If the halves are tight on the pan, use two — crowded squash steams instead of browning.
Make the Honey Butter
While the squash roasts, melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat, then pull it off the burner and let it cool for five minutes. Stir in the honey, vinegar, cinnamon and pepper flakes. This glaze is going back into a hot oven, so treat it as a cooked glaze — raw honey loses its floral character above roughly 105°F, and the spoonful you brush on at the very end is the one that keeps it.
Flip and Glaze
Turn the halves cut side up and brush about two thirds of the honey butter over the faces and into the seed cavities. Return to the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until the glaze bubbles and the cut edges go bronze. Glazing this late is the whole trick: honey put on at the start would scorch long before the squash was tender.
Finish and Serve
Out of the oven, give the pan two minutes, then brush on the remaining honey butter. Off the heat and slightly cooled, that last spoonful still tastes like the honey you started with. Honey in any form is not for babies under one year old. Scatter with pepitas, thyme and flaky salt, and rest 5 minutes before serving.
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