Saturday, January 19, 2008

Roasted Squash with Wasabi Mashed Potatoes

Ok, maybe this is a little off-season. Just before Christmas I saw the first (probably this season's last) acorn squash I had ever seen in my life and bought it - only because it was so beautiful. At least I think it is an acorn squash. It is kind of an orangy brown with a blueish hue. Beautiful. We were gone over Christmas for our honeymoon, and I returned with a nasty bug that upset all that is inside me so I couldn't hold down anything for another two weeks. But yesterday the beautiful squash was finally able to shine.



(Lady Sunshine and Mr. Moon: fall's last squash and spring's first tulips.)

After so much pumpkin soup, pie, muffins, etc. in fall I wanted to try something different. I'm glad I did. Roasting the squash elevated its flavor to a level I had never expected from this somewhat unexciting vegetable that is unvariably adorned with powerful spices to make it interesting. Roasting it, the squash's very own aroma was brought out. Alas, my active English vocab is not comprehensive enough to describe the rich, smooth, intensive taste of this orange beauty when roasted.

To go with it I made wasabi mashed potatoes. Not that this is a novelty, its just something something I had never tried before. Ooooooh, spicing up the mash was just as good as roasting the squash, and the two things went together perfectly.


The best thing about it: this was easy as (pumpkin) pie. No, easier. I peeled a chunk of squash, cubed it, lightly coated the cubes with olive oil, sprinkled them with sea salt and dried garlic, and roasted them for 15 minutes at 400 F - and voila, they were done already. For the mashed potatoes, I made them as usual and added 1/2 teaspoon wasabi powder per serving. Easy-peasy as Jamie Oliver says. But good. Very good. Comfort-food good.

Fat-free depends on the use of fat-free ingredients.
Gluten-free depends on the use of gluten-free ingredients.

3 comments:

urban vegan said...

I love anything with wasabi--and what's better in winter than mashed 'taters?

Vegan_Noodle said...

Roasted squash = perfection in my book!!

Anke said...

The funny thing is, until two years ago I was the greatest pumpkin/squash hater in the world. In Japan I then discovered kabocha and grew to liking it. And this fall was the first time I saw and tried acorn squash. I'm absolutely loving it. I guess I just don't like that bland sweetness of halloween pumpkins.

As for wasabi mash - seems like everybody except me knew about this hip combo... I only learned about it in my favorite vegan restaurant (the only one I know, actually): Zest. Check out their menu, absolutely mouthwatering. And their food is even better...
http://zest-leipzig.de/