Hasselback Butternut Squash

Veterans Day — no school — and I used the day to drive to White Plains and spend time with the grandchildren. Noah is seven months old and crawling, which is a developmental milestone that David reported with clinical precision ("He's at the fiftieth percentile for motor development") and which I received with the appropriate grandmother response, which is: he is a genius. All grandchildren are geniuses. This is not optional. Ethan, five, demonstrated his reading progress by reading me a picture book about a bear who loses his hat, and the reading was halting and effortful and the most beautiful sound I have heard since Marvin last said my name without being prompted.

Jennifer looks tired. I did not say this because telling a woman with three children under six that she looks tired is not helpful, it is stating the obvious while offering no solution. Instead I said, "Let me take the older two for the afternoon." She said yes immediately, with the speed of a woman who has been waiting for someone to say exactly those words. I took Ethan and Sophie to the park and then to a diner for lunch, where Ethan ordered a grilled cheese with the authority of a food critic and Sophie demanded "the pink drink," which turned out to be strawberry milk. I drank coffee and watched my grandchildren eat and thought about what it means to be the grandmother — the person whose job is not to manage or discipline or worry (though I do all three) but to enjoy, purely and without agenda, the fact that these small people exist.

I made a roasted root vegetable soup when I got home — parsnips, carrots, turnips, a sweet potato, all roasted until caramelized and then pureed with broth and a little cream. It's a soup for November, for the gray days, for the evenings when the house needs warming from the inside. Marvin ate a bowl and fell asleep in his chair, and I covered him with a blanket and washed the dishes and the house was quiet and warm and it was enough.

The soup I made that evening came together the way it always does when I’ve had a day that filled me up rather than emptied me — almost without thinking, just hands moving and the oven doing its work. If you want to start somewhere simpler, or you have a single squash sitting on your counter the way I usually do in November, this Hasselback Butternut Squash captures exactly the same spirit: a root vegetable pushed into the oven until its edges caramelize and its center goes soft and sweet. Marvin would have fallen asleep in his chair for this one too, and I would have covered him with the same blanket.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 1 hr | Total Time: 1 hr 15 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 large butternut squash (about 3 lbs), halved lengthwise and seeded
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
Flaky sea salt, for finishing
Fresh parsley or sage, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Preheat the oven. Heat oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan with parchment paper or foil.
Slice the squash. Place each squash half cut-side down on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, make thin crosswise cuts about 1/4-inch apart, slicing down almost but not all the way through — stop about 1/2 inch from the bottom so the slices fan out but hold together.
Make the glaze. Whisk together the melted butter, olive oil, maple syrup, thyme, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
Season the squash. Place squash halves cut-side up on the prepared pan. Brush generously with the glaze, working it down between the slices. Tuck a slice of garlic into every few cuts.
Roast, basting twice. Roast for 45 minutes, pausing at the 20- and 35-minute marks to brush more glaze over the top and between the slices. The squash is done when the edges are deeply caramelized and a knife slides through the thickest part with no resistance.
Finish and serve. Remove from the oven and let rest 5 minutes. Scatter flaky sea salt over the top and garnish with fresh parsley or sage if desired. Serve directly from the pan.

Nutrition (per serving)

Hasselback Butternut Squash — The Soup Can Wait, But the Roasting Never Does