Baked Squash Fries with Lemon

 

Squash is not for the hungry. That is, it is best to prepare squash the day before you plan to eat it. Time and again I've made the mistake of returning home with a craving for a creamy orange slice, only to find myself with an hour and a half of desperate slicing, scooping, and baking standing between me and a full plate. Therefore, as of late, my mode of operation has been to always have cooked squash around the house (and even around the office—a tupperware full of the baked stuff stashed in the communal fridge, it turns out, provides an excellent antidote to the mid-afternoon munchies). I've been operating under the assumption that I will always want roasted squash when I get home,  which turns out to be pretty accurate.

This recipe put me in the path of two hitherto unused types of squash: carnival and delicata. While I remain most attached to the buttercup, they performed quite well as (baked) fries, soaking up the tangy lemon juice and roasting into a velvety soft texture. I kept the skin on, as I generally do with squash: it makes for a bold mixture of colors, and I like the variety of texture it imparts. Even in the slim fry form, they spent a good forty minutes in the oven, keeping the house warm and squash-flavored. The fries would benefit from just about any spice or flavoring you throw at them—balsamic and basil come to mind. But I'm very fond of the clean, fresh lemon.

Baked Squash Fries with Lemon
Ingredients:
2 medium squash (I used a delicata and a carnival, but one butternut or two acorn could be substituted)
zest and juice from 1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

Directions:
--Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a large glass baking dish.
--Scrub squash skin with water (skip if you're skinning the squash before baking). Half squash and scoop out seeds. If desired, slice off skin. Cut squash into skinny strips, making as uniform as possible.
--Add squash to pan. Pour lemon juice and zest over squash and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 40 minutes, stirring squash at 15-minute intervals to ensure even roasting. Remove when squash begins to caramelize on the outside, but is soft when pierced with a fork.