Roasted Acorn Squash with Goat Cheese and Arugula

We made this squash with risotto for dinner on one of our first nights back in Ohio, and it was FANTASTIC :)

While we were planning the wedding, we barely ever cooked together or had the time for creative experimenting in the kitchen. We mostly ate things that we could throw together quickly and easily. So on our honeymoon, I was dreaming of all of the time we'd have to REALLY cook again when we got home. I was especially excited since it would officially be fall when we got back, and since we received so many wonderful gifts for the kitchen (HELLO salad spinner)!! October is most definitely my favorite month of the year, and I was thrilled to see fall produce in the grocery store when we got home! I picked up a beautiful little acorn squash, the perfect size for two people.

We scrubbed the squash, cut in half, scooped out the seeds and stringiness, then sliced into pretty little pieces. We tossed the pieces in a bit of coconut oil, one chopped garlic clove, salt, and some of our homemade curry powder mix. We roasted in a 375 degree oven for probably 20-25 minutes. We served it over arugula with goat cheese crumblies on top. The arugula was lightly tossed in a homemade dressing, just balsamic vinegar, a little honey, a little dijon, rosemary, and olive oil.



These adorable little boxes were our wedding favors for our guests, along with a small packet of recipes we developed to use with them. The curry powder was simply cumin, coriander, ginger, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and cardamom (no exact ratios here, we started off with an exact mix and then sort of ended up throwing things in the bowl)! But the ingredients are listed in order of what the mixture has the most of, that's for sure. I know people associate tumeric with curry, but truth be told, I'm not a huge fan. I don't really dig the flavor, or the neon yellow color. So we left it out!

I'll share more about our little spice mixes in future posts! We have a ton left over, so I'll be using them a lot :)

Pistachio Pesto

I love greens. I always have a bag or a box of spinach in my fridge at all times. And we love arugula as well (obviously). I put them in or on top of absolutely everything: saldas, eggs, pasta dishes, panini sandwiches, etc., etc., nom nom nom...

I also love to make pesto with greens instead of basil, to change things up a bit, especially when basil isn't exactly in season and readily available. It's also a bit cheaper if you want to make a large quantity.

This pesto is made up of spinach, toasted pistachios, the zest and juice of 1 meyer lemon, 2 garlic cloves, salt, pepper, and extra virgin olive oil. We just pulsed the garlic and pistachios in the mini food processer for a few seconds then added the lemon zest, juice and spinach and processed until all of the spinach is finely chopped. Lastly we streamed in olive oil until it reached the desired consistency (I like it a little thick) and added salt and pepper to taste.

We served this pesto at room temperature on top of local chicken breasts from Oink, Moo, Cluck Farms here in Columbus. It is some of the BEST chicken I have ever had in my life. No joke. The flavor and texture are so much better than what you get out of the stuff at the grocery store. We just lightly salted and peppered the chicken breasts and cooked them in a skillet with olive oil.

The last time we made pesto, we used arugula and regular lemon zest and used it to top pork chops from Oink, Moo, Cluck. They were just as tasty as the chicken breasts. And one of the best parts? You order their products online and they personally deliver it all right to your house! You can also find them at the Clintonville and Worthington farmer's markets in the summertime.



This pesto would also be great over roasted vegetables, tossed with roasted potatoes, on top of pasta, etc., etc....

Enjoy!

KJ