Roasted Acorn Squash Salad

Ingredients

• 3 pounds acorn squash (1 large or 2 small ones)
• 0.3 cup on a skillet dry toasted
• 2 tablespoons cheese fresh , such as aged goat cheese, drained ricotta, cottage cheese, or ricotta salata crumbled
• 2 teaspoons olive oil extra-virgin
• 0.1 teaspoon salt to taste

Equipment

• frying pan
• baking sheet
• oven
• knife
• peeler

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. (As soon as it’s hot, you can toast the slivered almonds for garnishing the salad: spread them on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes, shaking them up once or twice, until lightly colored and fragrant. Or toast them while the squash is roasting, or after.)
2. To prepare acorn squash: With a sharp vegetable peeler or paring knife, strip off the peel from the protruding ridges of the squash. You don’t need to peel more than this: leaving the rest of the peel will help the squash to retain its shape and looks nice too. (If you are roasting a smooth squash like butternut, remove all the peel.)
3. With a sharp heavy knife, cut the squash in half lengthwise, and scoop out all the seeds and fibers.
4. Place each half cut side down; trim the ends, then cut semicircular slices of squash, all about 1 inch thick.
5. Put all the pieces in a pile on a large baking sheet, preferably nonstick or lined with parchment, or on a non-stick silicone baking mat.
6. Drizzle the 2 tablespoons oil over the squash, sprinkle on the salt, and toss to coat with the seasonings, then spread the pieces out to lie flat, not touching.
7. Bake about 20 minutes, then flip the pieces over.
8. Bake another 15 minutes or so, until the squash is just tender all the way through (poke with a fork to check) and nicely caramelized on the edges.
9. Assembling the Salad
10. Let the squash pieces cool on the pan until you’re ready to serve. Arrange them—in a symmetrical design or in a casual pile—on a large serving platter or on individual salad plates, with two or three slices per portion.
11. Refresh them with drizzles of olive oil, sprinkles of salt. Scatter the almond slivers over, and then streaks or swirls of warm balsamic reduction. Finally, crumble bits of cheese all over.
12. Taste
13. Book, using the USDA Nutrition Database
14. From Lidia's Family table by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich Copyright (c) 2004 by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich Published by Knopf.Lidia Bastianich hosts the hugely popular PBS show, "Lidia's Italian-American kitchen" and owns restaurants in New York City, Kansas City, and Pittsburgh. Also the author of Lidia's Italian Table and Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen, she lives in Douglaston, New York. Jay Jacob's journalism has appeared in many national magazines.From the Trade Paperback edition.