Warming Winter Roasted Kabocha Squash

This is a fabulous dish which I found in my Food & Wine Magazine. The combination of warming spices and kabocha squash with the peel on caught my eye at first. I mean, who doesn't love cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg!? And eating the squash with the peel brings me back to Japan where this was common with tempura or pumpkin dishes and I loved it! Then they added coconut milk to the mix, and HELLO.....I am going to make you for dinner and eat you all up!

Warming Winter Roasted Kabocha Squash

1 can coconut milk

1/4 C light brown sugar

8 garlic cloves, unpeeled

1 fresh hot red chile, thinly sliced

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp freshly ground cloves

3/4 tsp cardamom

1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

1 medium kabocha squash, cleaned, seeded and cut into 2" chunks

salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl combine coconut milk, brown sugar, garlic, chiles and spices and mix well. Add squash chunks and stir until well coated.

Pour into a roasting pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover pan with foil and roast for 45 minutes in oven until tender. Remove foil and up the heat in your oven to 400. Place back in the oven for about 15 minutes. The squash should be starting to form a nice glaze at this point. Check and it may be done, or if you desire more brownness, give it a stir and an additional 15 minutes. Devour and enjoy! ;o)