There’s something about the combination of flavors in this dish. The delicata squash with the brown butter, pistachios, and sprinkle of pomegranate seeds is the best combination. The flavors are also perfect for fall. There’s sage and thyme throughout the squash alongside toasty notes of brown butter and brightness from the pomegranate seeds. This is a great side dish for a weekday meal but it’s also beautiful enough for a Thanksgiving table.
To make the squash, cut off the ends of 3 medium sized delicata squash. Then cut the squash long ways down the middle. Once they have been cut longways, de-seed and remove the insides. The best part of this variety of squash is that the skin can be left on. Once the squash is de-seeded, cut the squash into ¼” half moons. Take the cut squash and place onto a lined sheet tray. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake the squash at 425 for 15 minutes or until they are nice and golden.
As the squash are cooking, add 4 tablespoons of butter to a saucepan. Turn the stove to medium high heat, and stir the butter until the milk solids begin to get golden. Stir often because this can happen quickly! As soon as you see the golden color, pull the pan from the heat to ensure it doesn’t burn. Add in the pistachios and stir to combine. Remove the thyme leaves from the sprigs and discard the sprigs. Toss the herb browned butter with the squash until evenly incorporated. Plate and top with pomegranate seeds.
Delicata Squash Notes
- Delicata Squash: These are some of our favorite squash to prepare because the skin is thin enough to eat. There’s no need to peel these, you can just slice and bake. We opt to scrape out the seeds and insides, but this step is up to you.
- Olive oil: There’s no need to use the great stuff here. Any good olive oil will do the trick to get these nice and golden.
- Brown Butter: Don’t skimp on the butter. Browning the butter is what gives these squash such great flavor. It takes an extra couple of minutes, but those few minutes on the stove give the butter the most delicious, toasty flavor. The milk solids in the butter have a chance to caramelize creating the best sauce for the squash.
- Pistachios: We liked whole, shelled, toasted pistachio kernels for this recipe. The larger kernels hold up well when folded into the squash.
Brown Butter Delicata Squash with Pistachios and Pomegranate Seeds
Ingredients
- 3-4 delicata squash
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 4 tablespoons butter browned
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 8 sage leaves
- ½ cup toasted pistachios shelled
- ½ pomegranate seeded
Instructions
For the squash:
- Preheat the oven to 425 and line a large baking sheet with foil or parchment
- Cut the delicata in half, longwise. Remove the seeds and stringy insides with a spoon
- Once the insides have been removed, cut off the ends. Slice the squash into quarter inch pieces
- Place sliced squash onto the baking tray and drizzle olive oil, salt, and pepper
- Bake at 425 for ~15 minutes until golden and soft
For the herb brown butter
- Add butter, sage, and thyme into a pan
- Cook over medium high heat stirring often butter is has golden flecks throughout
- Remove from heat and add pistachios
- Remove thyme leaves from the sprigs and discard the sprigs
Assembly
- Toss the cooked squash with the brown butter and pistachio mixture
- Top with pomegranate seeds
Entertainer’s Note:
This is a great side dish to serve with any fall meal. We love it with cider brined pork chops and it makes great leftovers tossed into salads the next day!
