It’s official. I love love love kabocha squash. It’s like candy for me. Not too long ago I made my first kabocha squash dish, kabocha squash gnocchi, and I loved it.
More recently I decided to try simply roasting it in the oven, sprinkling it with a bit of sea salt, pepper, and truffle oil. This stuff, I really could not stop eating. It tastes good warm, cold out of the fridge . . . it’s a fantastic healthy snack if you’re just craving a little bite to eat. In fact, more than once, I found myself sneaking a few slices of this stuff right before midnight.
How funny . . sneaking slices of kabocha squash as if it were cookies or something.
But really, it’s so good. And sadly, the last time I went to the market, I didn’t see them anymore. Is the season already over?
Kabocha squash definitely takes a bit of muscle to cut (please be careful and use a heavy cleaver if you have one!). The skin is perfectly fine to eat, so no need to peel it! Just make sure you always put the FLAT side of the squash down whenever cutting. It’s much safer that way!
To ensure evenness in cooking time, try to make the slices all the same thickness.
Oven Roasted Kabocha Squash
1 kabocha squash
1/4 tsp salt
pepper (to taste)
2 T vegetable oil
truffle oil (optional)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut up one kabocha squash into 1-cm thick slices. You can optionally remove the skin, but there is really no need to remove it. It’s totally edible and is quite soft once roasted. Lay the pieces in one layer on a pan. Drizzle with vegetable oil (enough to light cover – about 2 tablespoons) and toss until all sides of the squash are covered with some oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss, and then roast for about 20 minutes, or until soft.
Optional: you can easily make a puree just by mashing up the roasted squash with a fork, which is what I did. I pressed the puree into a small triangular mold for the picture. I did not even remove the skin, which is why you see little green bits in my puree.
Enjoy!
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I cant wait to try this! I was wondering what I could do with those squashes! 🙂
I do not know that pumpkin can also be done in this way to make a delicious dish.
look at that plating! i love any roasted winter squash, but i actually looked it up yesterday and i think kabocha is more of a fall-winter, so I’m guessing the season is done… 🙁
looks fabulous. I love cooking with squash too. Yum!
That looks fantastic. Lovely photos too (and nice tips on Food Blog Forum!)
I’ve gotten these a few times in my CSA box but never been able to cut them! Argh! I guess I need a heavier cleaver. Looks so delicious though, love that color!
The squash can be cooked whole, wash, place in oven at 300F for 2-3 hours.
Easy to cut and wedge as desired, easy to remove seeds, Season as desired.
That how I do it!!
Great photo and tasty looking recipe! I love the idea of squash and truffle oil although I haven’t tried it. Thanks for sharing!
That is my favorite squash also! What a refreshing recipe (at least for me!) you created.
sounds yummy! anything with truffle oil tastes good. try pan-frying different types of mushrooms with truffle oil.
So delicate and elegant! Beautiful work, as always!!
My Mom just made these – hers had a spicy bite to it. I wasn’t sure if I could eat the skin – it was very tender though.
My obaachan used to make kabocha simmered in mirin, sugar, a bit of soy sauce and sake – it’s a side dish for dinner but very sweet if you like the candy aspect. Sadly I’ve never seen a kabocha here in Austria where I live now though 🙁
Wow, it’s so cool to hear about how others make this squash. I actually saw some at the market yesterday, so maybe they are still around!
But, you live in Austria! Lucky you!
OMG, so awesome! I did a similar thing, but your pictures are so awesome!
Do you think kabocha would make an okay pie filling? It seems like people usually use butternut…
definitely good for pie filling. like pumpkin.
I love to roast the seeds
Hungry Girl just recommended this squash in place of potatoes – so I wonder if you can make potato salad out of it? I have substituted cauliflower for potatoes in potato salad once and it was quite good. I haven’t tried this squash yet, but your roasted recipe sounds great and easy enough for me (a non-cook) to try. Thanks so much.
Hi Abbyjohn,
I’m sure you could make potato salad out of it. It has a very similar texture to some potatoes. I bet it would taste really good! What a great idea!
To follow up on my last note -your potato salad may be a bit mushier than a typical potato salad. It might be more like those Japanese potato salads, which are almost like mashed potatoes. I guess it depends how long you roast it!
I had purchased this having no idea what it tasted like. I am now glad that I did, well Hopefully as I am cooking it as we speak for the very first time.
I cut the kabocha into 1″ cubes. I saute onions and garlic, throw in the kabocha, then add some water (less if you want a thick mushy dish; more if you want it very thin soupy). Then I vary my seasonings; some ways I do it are:
— add oregano
— add whatever leftover meats
— add bell peppers
— add carrots or any other vegetable I have around
— add curry powder
— add cayenne powder (a little goes a long way!)
— I always add chicken boullion or vegetable seasoning
I make a pot and freeze it in single serving portions. It’s so easy to cook.
Thanks for the recipe–wonderful!
I am really getting hungry reading this, and I think I have kabucha in my little alotment garden, will certainly try the recipy
Truffle oil and sea salt sound wonderful.
it has been a while since this thread was active so many of y ou may have figured this out already… slice a couple of gashes in the top of the kabocha and put the whole thing in the oven for 60-90 minutes. one tender, scoop the flesh out (use an oven mitt to protect hands). I never peel winter squash anymore! SO EASY!! my favorite kabocha recipe is for kabocha with leeks and sage. here is the link: http://www.food.com/recipe/kabocha-squash-with-sage-and-leeks-146020
Thank you for your leek and sage idea. I love leek soup. Going to try it next week.
Oh, thanks so much! I had seen this squash on a TV cooking show for the first time recently, and bought one. Wasn’t sure if I was strong enough to cut it up, but I definitely like your suggestion, because it cuts prep time down to zip.
The recipe also looks interesting, and I’m going to look it over as well.
I will experiment a little first and see just how difficult it is for me to cut it up, as roasting it in slices also sounds yummy.
jem
shaved Parmesan should do the trick. You need something salty to balance the sweet in addition to the salt
Kabocha is insanely delicious in a dish I call “pasta bake,” which I learned in Australia. Carmelize onions and garlic with olive oil and salt and pepper, then add squash (softened from oven) and a little butter (any type) and milk (any type) to get a mashed potato consistency. Spread fresh spinach in a baking dish and mix the squash mixture and pasta (already cooked) with the spinach. Bake at 350 for about an hour, adding some Italian blend cheese on top the last few minutes. Incredible! (You can use pumpkin, too.)
Cooking this tonight! Thank you for the inspiration of your beautiful photos!
Enjoy! I’ve been eating tons of this stuff this autumn and I never tired of it!
Excellent! I’m a recent vegan and this is soooooo yummy!
Kabocha is so good plain from the shell when it’s fresh, ripe and sweet. I understand sneaking tastes at midnight!
Sounds marvelous. Going to try it tonight, if we can keep our hands off the fresh roasted squash long enough to mash some.
What type of pasta noodle did you use? This dish sounds delicious and I’d like to try it soon. Thank you for sharing the recipe!
I roasted my kabocha slices with minced garlic and 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. I am hooked! It’s like butter and it helps curb the sweet tooth (for me, anyway).
Just got our 1st kabocha, can’t wait 2 try this recipe!
Hello! I found your site after googling kabocha recipes. I’m your newest follower and am looking forward to trying out this recipe soon!
delicious! have to try!
OK, so this hasn’t been added to in 7 mos. but here in Hawaii, we get kabocha year round! Grew it in the school garden. Going to try roasting it with Hawaiian sea salt, black pepper, and some olive oil. I usually “steam” it in the oven in a baking dish with 1″ of water, cut side down, but think the roasted one sounds even better! Thanks.
Try some bacon cut into 1/2″ pieces, fried up til crisp then top your finished dish with it!! Just salty enough to compliment the sweet, deliciousness of roasted kabocha & apples.. can you say YUM?? : )
I was just given three of these squash and can’t wait to try them with your recipe. :o)
Oh My Word ! My husband has grown some Kabocha squash this year and frankly I wasn’t looking forward to it. He picked the first one at the weekend and it sat on the kitchen worktop winking at me for a couple of days. In the end I thought I’d better cook it, just to please him, so searched the internet and found your recipe. I followed it to the letter and boy oh boy what a revelation – the most exquisitely delicious dish, and so unexpected ! Then last night I made soup with the left overs, skin and all (added a little onion, garlic, bacon, dried sage and some milk to loosen it up after liquidising). I can only say this was the best soup I have ever made. Thank you for inspiring me. I am a convert.
it makes a wonderfull dessert too…To some cooked pulp (roasted,microwaved even…) add some tapioca flour and a pinch of salt (thai blue three elephants is a nice one )…shape pea size dumplig,boil,strain,cool down…Serve in coconut milk “soup’,coconut milk or cream, boiled with sugar (pandan leave eventually…
it is also amazing gently simmered in red curry with kaffir leaves…
I just had my first Kabocha squash and it will not be my last. I just washed it off, left it wet and put it in the crock pot. I did a butternut the same way recently. YUM
Just found this – sounds great. My one suggestion (from Alton Brown, I think), is to use a rubber mallet (from the tool box) to cut the squash with a cleaver. It’s really fast, doesn’t require a lot of brute strength, and best of all my fingers were no where near the blade!
I just roast it whole for about an hour at 400 degrees. Cuts easy in half, scoop it out, then slice if wish and put tender broiler if wish. Or, stuff the scooped out halves!
So nice to find your posts and suggestions for using Kabocha Squash. I happened to buy one in a store last winter, put the seeds along with other vegetable scraps into my compost bin, used it to fertilize my vegetable beds this spring and surprisingly they sprouted and brought me a rich harvest of them in my own yard. 🙂
Wow, so beautiful!
awww!! look’s delicious~~