Acorn Squash is the most challenging vegetable to make taste good without adding lots of fat and sugar. Today the acorn squash was brushed with sriracha, soy, just one teaspoon sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, garlic and a pinch of allspice. Nothing too fatty or sweet there but they all are very flavorful and taste good together. Then a bunch of carrots were cooked up and 1/2 got blended into a puree with water, fresh squeezed orange juice and ginger that was roasted with the carrots. Then they were topped with more of the sauce, scallions and cilantro. THAT’S IT! This recipe makes 6 large servings or 12 side dishes. My photo isn’t the best because it doesn’t show the sauce but there is sauce on the top that taste good.

Ingredients for around 12 servings

3 small acorn squash – cut in quarters with seeds and membranes removed

8 Tablespoons sriracha – preferably Shark Brand (This brand is very smooth with almost a sweet tomato taste….yours will taste different with a different brand)

2 Tablespoon soy sauce

2 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar

2 garlic clove – ground to paste or microplane

pinch ground all spice

3 lb carrots – peeled – sliced into about 1/4 inch thick coins – (carrots must be fresh and sweet tasting for this recipe to taste good…..you can’t use old carrots here….I WARN YOU also please don’t use those chemical soaked baby carrots)

2 inches fresh ginger – grated

1/2 cup water (to cook carrots with)

I orange – just the fresh squeezed juice

up to 1 1/2 cups water – ( do 1/2 cup and add 1/4 cup till smooth and a nice consistency)

neutral non stick spray

1/4 cup scallions – sliced thin

2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro – hand torn

Directions

Set oven to 375 degrees F.

Spray a baking sheet(s) with non stick spray.

Place the acorn squash quarters on the baking sheet(s)

In a small mixing bowl combine the sriracha, soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, garlic and all spice. Mix well.

Brush the squash with thalf he mixture well. you cam well mixture in squash cavities.

Carrots and ginger (but ginger in one spot to infuse slightly but more so to cook it) go in a pan or two small pans. Add a half cup of water and cover.

Put the brushed squash on the middle shelf and the covered carrots on the lower shelves in the oven.

In my oven both were done in 45 minutes…..yours may or may not differ.

When squash and carrots are cooked threw pull them out of the oven.

Half the carrots get blended up with the ginger, some water and fresh squeezed orange juice. Start with the orange juice and a 1/2 cup of water……..add 1/4 cups more of water till nice and smooth. Hopefully your puree will taste sweet like mine. If you don’t think it’s sweet enough you can add a tablespoon of either honey or maple syrup.

Top each quarter squash with some carrot puree, some carrots, the other half of the sauce, some scallions with a little fresh cilantro.

Delicious, a bit spicy and full of gingery sort of Asian flavors.