Maple-Orange Glazed Acorn Squash  yellow_icon  Green_icon

Serves 4 • Cooking Time 3 to 4 hours on Low or 2 to 3 hours on High • Slow Cooker Size 5½ to 7 Quarts

Slug Icon WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: A quintessential fall vegetable, acorn squash takes forever to roast and often emerges dry and a bit grainy. In the slow cooker, however, it turns tender easily without overcooking or drying out. And as an added bonus, you can perfume it with warm spices as it cooks. Here we created a cooking base made up of water, orange juice, cloves, and cinnamon and placed the squash cut side down in this flavorful mixture. And since we think a glaze greatly enhances acorn squash, we made a quick one in the microwave by combining maple syrup with coriander, cayenne pepper, and orange zest. This lively glaze elevated the humble slow-cooked vegetable, and toasted hazelnuts provided great crunch and flavor. Don’t be tempted to substitute imitation maple syrup—it will be too sweet. You will need an oval slow cooker for this recipe. See the sidebar that follows the recipe.

2

teaspoons grated orange zest plus ½ cup juice

5

cloves

1

cinnamon stick

2

(1-pound) acorn squashes, quartered pole to pole and seeded

Salt and pepper

¼

cup maple syrup

⅛

teaspoon ground coriander

Pinch cayenne pepper

¼

cup hazelnuts, toasted, skinned, and chopped coarse

1

tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1. Combine 1 cup water, orange juice, cloves, and cinnamon in slow cooker. Season squash with salt and pepper and shingle, cut side down, in slow cooker. Cover and cook until squash is tender, 3 to 4 hours on low or 2 to 3 hours on high.

2. Using tongs, transfer squash to serving platter. Brush away any cloves that stick to squash and discard cooking liquid and cinnamon stick. Microwave maple syrup, coriander, cayenne, and orange zest in bowl, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 1 minute; season with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle glaze over squash and sprinkle with hazelnuts and parsley. Serve.

Per serving:
Cal 190
Fat 4.5g
Sat Fat 0g
Chol 0mg
Carb 38g
Protein 3g
Fiber 4g
Sodium 160mg