roasted squash caramelized onions 3 ways

So one of the things you get en mass from my food co-op is winter squash. Acorn, delicata, butternut... just lots and lots of squash. The easiest thing to do with it is to roast it up with a little butter and salt and pepper for like 45 minutes or until it gets nice and tender. That on its own is pretty good, but I like to jazz it up with some caramelized onions and crispy fried sage. From there, there's plenty of good things to do with it.




First, do it up Italian style with a little aged balsamic. I served this up for two pre-Thanksgiving dinners this year, and it was both easy and delicious. The first time, I followed this easy recipe from epicurious. The second time around, I added the onions and sage, because I knew they were a great match with butternut squash. It definitely a winning combination and took an already tasty dish to a new level.




I was happy to have an excuse to use my fancy pants 25 year old balsamic vinegar, of which I have two bottles. I can never think of something special enough to warrant using it, and that's a shame. Luckily, it really shown in this recipe. A worthy application of probably the most expensive ingredient in my kitchen.




If you want your butternut squash and onions to work a little harder, what about sprinkling them over a bed of arugula for a nice fall salad? I used regular balsamic in the dressing, but I guess this would be another ideal opportunity for the good stuff, if you have it. You'll notice that there's some white crumbly stuff in the photo, which was actually feta cheese. I think it probably would have been better to go with some creamy goat cheese or ricotta, but I used what I had and it was still fairly decent.




That being said, probably the best thing you can do with your roasted squash, caramelized onions and sage is to drizzled it with browned butter sauce and serve with ravioli. Really GOOD ravioli if you can swing it.




So what are you waiting for? Roast some winter squash and throw it a party with some onions and sage. Guaranteed good time for everyone involved.