Kabocha Japanese Pumpkin -Roasted

By blum099

A tasty fall favorite that can be made 3 different ways. It's very easy. DON'T try this with a Halloween pumpkin (you've been warned). If you can't find a Kabocha, you can use acorn squash - but, it really is a Kabocha dish ! Read more

Ingredients

• Spicy and Sweet:
• to One Kabocha (Japanese pumpkin - they tend to be squat, dark green with stripes and a very rough, almost warty texture. Don't worry, the skin gets tender when cooked and is completely edible.
• to has a delicate, slighly sweet and rich flavor. Be careful not to overpower it with too much seasoning.
• to to you have a can of spray oil (canola or olive oil) handy - if not, add more oil to the mixes below and be sure to coat each piece completely so that they don't dry out while roasting
• 1 1 1 TBSP Turbanado or brown sugar
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 1/4 1/4 tsp. ginger
• dash dash ground cloves
• dash dash nutmeg
• pinch pinch freshly ground black pepper
• dash, scosch or pinch cayenne (ground red pepper) optional
• 2 2 2 tsp tamari or soy sauce
• 1/4 1/4 1/4 sesame oil (plain or toasted)
• Sweet Treat
• 1 1 1 TBSP Turbanado or brown sugar
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 1/4 1/4 tsp. ginger
• dash dash ground cloves
• dash dash nutmeg
• to oil or canola oil to coat
• Italian-style (savory):
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 TBSP olive oil
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 tsp. thyme (or any herbs that you like)
• 1/4 1/4 1/4 tsp freshly groung black pepper
• dash dash or two of salt
• to won't need to spray th

Details

Servings 6
Cooking time 15mins

Preparation

Step 1

How to make it

Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Place a few baking racks or grids on a cookie sheet and set aside. Using racks allows you to roast both sides at once and avoid turning. If you don't have racks, spray the cookie the sheet with oil, and turn them when 1/2 done baking.
Wash the Kabocha well and dry off.
Using a cleaver or very sturdy knife, split the pumpkin in 1/2 and then clean out the seeds and pulp (save the seeds to roast - instructions at the end)
Slice the Kaboha into 1/2 in thick slices
Mix one of the seasoning blends in a large flat-bottomed bowl or pan and toss the slices to coat. Place on baking racks and spray both sides very lightly with canola or olive oil spray. The idea is to coat them while minimizing the total fat.
Repeat with other flavors (optional)
Place in the oven and bake for 15 min. Check to see if they are tender by poking with a fork (they don't take very long to cook).
Arrange on a plate and serve as appetizer or side dish or the sweet ones can be serve as dessert. You can eat the skin or peel it off if you prefer (that's where lots of the vitamins and fiber live)