Roasted Kabocha Squash

Cheer It’s Friday with a glass of Sonoma Cutrer Pinot Noir in one hand and a notebook in the other hand planning my Thanksgiving feast.

The Wine:
2010 Sonoma Cutrer Pinot Noir
Russian River Valley
Sonoma County

My Tasting Notes:
A smooth concentration of plum with some earthy notes.  Perfectly balanced elegant wine.  My favorite so far along the Russian River Valley of Pinot Noirs.
Alcohol 14.5%

After tasting this Pinot Noir, I will be running to the store to buy more Sonoma Cutrer 2010 Pinot Noir for my Thanksgiving dinner.  This wine will be a nice pairing with my sage rubbed turkey, cornbread chestnut stuffing and a new addition, roasted kabocha squash.  Somehow I am late to the kabocha squash party trend….until now.  Kabosha squash has been popping up in recent cookbooks, food magazines, restaurants, and most recently on my “Panna” iPhone app.  Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton of the Canal House prepare roasted kabocha squash via video on Panna – it is awesome, I highly recommend this app.  I adapted their recipe to make it a little more wine friendly, leaving out the lemon and adding some pomegranate seeds.

Recipe
Roasted Kabocha Squash with Pomegranate Seeds
adapted from Panna – The Canal House
Ingredients
1 large Kabocha Squash
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 cup Pomegranate seeds
1 Small Bunch Parsley, chopped
Salt and Pepper
Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 400 F.  Cut the squash in half down the equator side (not through the stem side).  Scoop out seeds and discard. Cut squash halves into quarters.
2.  Place squash on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Drizzle olive oil over the squash quarters.  With your hands coat the squash with the oil.  Salt and pepper each quarter.  Roast for one hour.
3.  While the squash is roasting, cut the pomegranate in half and submerge one half in a bowl of cold water.  Peel the seeds out from the white pithy part while holding the pomegranate under the water, this will eliminate pomegranate juice from squirting everywhere.  The seeds will sink to the bottom and the white pith will float to the top.  Repeat with the other half and then strain the seeds.
4.  When the squash is done, drizzle a little olive oil over the roasted squash and top with pomegranate seeds and parsley.

 

 

I guess Cheers It’s Friday is just a primer for the big turkey day…in just 6 days!