It’s that time again to reveal my contribution for this month’s Royal Foodie Joust, hosted by Jenn the Leftover Queen.
Iron Chef has nothing on this competition. The Food Network challenge involves one secret ingredient whereas Joust participants must prep a dish using three ingredients, as chosen by the previous month’s winner.
Last month’s win was secured by Sticky, Creamy, Chewy with her Gorgonzola, fennel and pear tart. For this month’s challenge, “Sticky” chose acorn squash, orange and sage as THE feature ingredients.
From the get-go, I knew this month’s challenge would be tough…how does one combine orange and sage in either a savory or sweet dish? I got a headache, frustration and ultimately almost opted to not submit an entry…this combo is quite difficult.
I finally settle on prepping some acorn squash as a dessert. Many fall Sunday dinners include yams and sweet potatoes as a sweet side dish or as a dessert. I decided this was going to be direction to make my entry to.
What we have here is slices of acorn squash, poached then seasoned and baked in a fluffy dollop of meringue to offer up a different dessert that’s easy to prepare and a sexy dessert for presentation.
Roasted Acorn Squash With Meringue
(for four)
1 acorn squash, quartered and seeded
1 1/2 cups of water
1 1/2 cups of orange juice
1/2 cup sugar
3 egg whites
cream of tartar
Aprrox. 100gr. icing sugar
4 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. fresh sage, finely chopped
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 tsp. ground anise seeds
some melted butter
Pre-heated 400F oven
- Place a pot on your stove-top large enough to hold all the squash quarters. Fill with orange juice, water and sugar and bring to a boil. Poach your squash for about 10-15 minutes, until almost fork tender (squash will finish cooking in the oven). Remove the squash from the liquid and place in cold water to stop the cooking process. Pat dry and reserve.
- In a small bowl, mix your brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, sage and ground anise and reserve. Now brush your squash quarters with melted butter and sprinkle the sugar & spice mixture all over the flesh of the squash. Place on a baking sheet and reserve.
- Using a clean bowl, add your egg whites and some cream of tarter and beat your egg whites with a hand mixer for a couple of minutes or until it starts to stiffen. Add your icing sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks are formed.
- Place dollops of meringue on top of each squash quarter and bake on the middle rack of your oven for 5-10 minutes or until meringue is golden brown.
- Serve immediately.
32 Responses
Great entry in this months challenge Peter! Love how this looks!
How creative, Peter! this is a beautiful dish.
This is a very healthy sort of “meringue pie”. great job.
This is a very healthy sort of “meringue pie”. great job.
This is a very healthy sort of “meringue pie”. great job.
This is a very healthy sort of “meringue pie”. great job.
This is a very healthy sort of “meringue pie”. great job.
This is a very healthy sort of “meringue pie”. great job.
This is a very healthy sort of “meringue pie”. great job.
This is a very healthy sort of “meringue pie”. great job.
wow I love it! It’s like a sail boat with a happy cloud on it! good luck!
This is brilliant. I love the meringue. It’s a great presentation.
Poaching in orange juice — nice touch!
Hi Peter,
After so many pumpkin recipes, it’s nice to happen upon a tempting cloud of Acorn Squash with just a tinge of “sunshine.” Thanks for sharing and good luck!
How fantastic! I love the extra spices you’ve put in there.
A clever and ingenious use of the Joust ingredients Peter…good luck!
I never thought of meringue on top of acorn squash! That would be my dearly beloved’s new favorite preparation for an already favored veggie (when prepared with maple syrup and nuts, of course). Thanks for the idea!
This is a feat of engineering Peter! Very swish :)
Peter,
I thought I’ve seen everything in the blogger world. This is a first to see a squash with meringue. What a brilliant idea. Looks great.
Great idea!!! Loving this!!
Sounds delicious, good luck Peter!
Whoa, that’s impressive! I was thrown by the sage, too, and was surprised to see anise here as well. Boy, you sure figured out how to make a fantastic dessert. What I really like is that you poached it first … great idea! You’ve come up with a winner here! Um, if you ever need a taste tester, I can think of an eager Italian American who’d volunteer for the job!
We are all on a pepita pumpkin seed kick or squash posting!
It must be fall!
very creative, lovely presentation
You did really well to come up with that idea! I would never have thought of that combo, I’d have had to have chickend out.
Looks good Peter!
Lovely entry. Good luck with the Joust.
I love the presentation of this dish, Peter! I’d have been stumped by that combination of ingredients too so I think you did a great job – most original.
WOW Peter look fantastic and yummy!!! xGloria
Fabulous! Good thing you didn’t give up! Joust On Peter!
oh la la! you sure are good at this joust thing–this is a stroke of genius. :)
Now I have to say, that’s not something I would have thought of. Well done for really rising to the occasion of this challenge!
Hi Peter, your meringue is very creative, and unique. Awesome and Good Luck!