If you grew up around acorns, you might have found it an unwelcome shock to learn that our human bodies don’t digest acorn meat well at all. Even once they’ve ripened, they still need to be leached — essentially boiled over and over and over again — to remove the bitter tannins and make them edible. Of course, if you don’t have the patience for all that, there’s always acorn squash! This recipe is so simple, it only calls for five ingredients. And while, yes, the acorn squash needs to roast for a full hour, it is far less labor-intensive and bitter than any of the acorn recipes you’ll find!
vegetarian acorn squash with walnuts & cranberry
4
15 minutes
1 hour
1 hour 15 minutes
1 medium acorn squash
2 tablespoons coconut oil, separated
4 tablespoons brown sugar, separated
¼ cup walnuts, chopped
¼ cup dried cranberries
Preheat the oven to 400F.
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Cut the squash in half length-wise, and scoop out the seeds.
Brush all over with 1 tablespoon coconut oil (or spray all over, if using a spray oil) and sprinkle generously with 3 tablespoons of the brown sugar. Cover loosely with aluminum foil, and bake for one hour, or until tender.
Once the squash has finished roasting, set it out to cool, and add the remaining coconut oil, brown sugar, walnuts, and cranberries to a small saucepan. Place over low heat and stir constantly until the sugar has fully dissolved and the cranberries have begun to soften.
Remove it from the heat, and evenly divide the mixture between the two squash halves. Serve immediately.