ChefSteps is a team of chefs, writers, and food lovers who develop recipes, techniques, and guides to help people cook better at home.

ChefSteps

Don’t get us wrong. Grandma’s baked butternut squash—doused in butter, sprinkled with brown sugar—is great. But there are all sorts of winter squashes on offer at the market these days and no end to the fun things you can do with them. Among our favorites: kabocha, a generic term for several Japanese varieties characterized by their squat shape and sweet, rich, yellow flesh. Best of all, kabochas’ deep-green skin softens nicely as it cooks, meaning you can often skip the pesky peeling step. Here, we rest the kabocha in salt and sugar, then confit it in clarified butter to create an almost fudgelike texture. Smooth, but not too smooth, the squash should push back a little as you bite into it. We give it a hit of lemon juice for brightness and then garnish with toasted hazelnuts, chives, and a flurry of ricotta salata before serving. Feel free to sub in other squashes such as butternut (you know, if Grandma’s coming over), but in that case you’ll need to peel the skin off before you cook. Got leftover hazelnuts? You can always use them in our sexy <a href="microwaved-radicchio-salad">Microwaved Radicchio Salad</a>.