Buttercup Squash with Apple, Cranberry Mostarda

The squash I served last week was such a hit that I thought I would make something similar today to go with the bean and polenta dish. Since I had mentioned the version of mostarda with cranberries previously, I thought I should post it in case anyone was interested.

This was my first buttercup squash. One of the organic farmers had it at the market and I thought why not, even though I didn’t know what it was. I had to look it up to write this post. It is very similar to acorn squash in taste and cooking time, only much larger in size. Here is what I made tonight.

Buttercup Squash with Apple, Cranberry Mostarda
Serves 4

Squash Ingredients:

1 buttercup squash, cut in half and seeds removed
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 pinch of kosher salt
1 pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Mostarda Ingredients:

¼ cup red onion, finely diced
¼ cup water to water sauté onions
¼ cup cranberries, frozen or fresh
¼ cup golden raisins
4 tablespoons, cored and diced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
1 tablespoon agave
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Rub the exposed squash surfaces with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the squash on baking dish or half sheet pan cut side down. Add ½ cup of water and bake until the squash is easily pierced with the tip of a paring knife. Mine was ready in 40 minutes but the amount of time your squash takes depends on the size of the squash.

To make the mostarda water sauté the onion until it is soft. Add the remaining ingredients and cook until the cranberries burst. Check the mostarda for seasoning and correct before serving. You want the mostarda to be a little sweet, but also tart and to have a mustard background.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 187.24
Calories From Fat (12%) - 22.73

Total Fat - 2.66g
Saturated Fat - 0.36g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 134.3mg
Potassium - 631.09mg
Total Carbohydrates - 41.81g
Fiber - 4.89g
Sugar - 22.02g
Protein - 3.81g

Comments:

If you like chutney and squash you will probably like this dish, I know I did. The rest of the family appeared to like it too, because it disappeared fairly rapidly.

Next time I would probably use white balsamic so the color of the mostarda wouldn’t muddy. I like the sweetness the balsamic adds to the dish. However you can use regular red or white wine vinegar and more agave if you prefer. The red wine vinegar is so light in color it doesn’t negatively impact the cold of the finished mostarda.

Nutritionally this dish was better than the beans and polenta but it wasn’t the powerhouse that some of dishes are. Each serving of this recipe contains more than 1,600IU of vitamin A, 69mg of calcium, 24mcg of folate, and 67mcg of phosphorus.

I am off to relax with my green tea and my hubby. I hope you all have a great evening.