Spicy Sweet Roast Kabocha

Kabocha . . . ka-bow-chah. A pretty green-skinned orange-fleshed winter squash. Tastes delicious sliced and roasted with warm fall spices and a little brown sugar. The only hard part is slicing the squash–use a sharp knife and be careful! (next time I may roast it whole for 15 minutes to soften it for slicing) The skin is edible–no need to peel.

Sweet and spicy roasted kabocha squash
Adapted from JustHungry
1 kabocha squash,halved,  seeded, 1/4″ slices
brown sugar, enough to sprinkle over (about 3 Tbl.)
1/8 tsp. ancho chili powder or cayenne
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
pinch allspice
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbl. soy sauce
olive oil

Preheat the oven to400°F. Line a two baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay out the squash slices on the sheets. Sprinkle over the sugar and spices. Drizzle over the soy sauce and some oil. Toss to coat. Bake for 30 minutes. Can flip over slices halfway through baking.

The original recipe calls for half a kabocha, which worked out perfectly for me, because I was using the other half to make a half batch of this soup (kabocha and yellow split pea, or red lentil) from Levana. Also excellent. (for soup, simmer together for an hour and a half and then puree: 1 lb. kabocha, cut up, 1 sweet potato, cut up, 1 onion, cut up, 1 red lentils or yellow split peas, 3 stalks celery, dill, 3 bay leaves, 1 1/2 tsp. turmeric, salt, pepper, 6 cups water and 2 1/2 Tbl. olive oil.) I think you also could use canned pumpkin instead of the kabocha for this soup.

Bonus: you can use pureed kabocha instead of pumpkin–according to Kitchen Parade, the results are better if more expensive than using canned pumpkin.

Tags: dairy-free, gluten-free, homemade pumpkin puree, kabocha, pareve, pumpkin, roast kabocha, roast vegetables, soup, vegan, Vegetables, vegetarian