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Coffee-Baked Squash with Crème Fraîche
© Michael Turek

Coffee-Baked Squash with Crème Fraîche

Contributed by and
  • ACTIVE: 10 MIN
  • TOTAL TIME: 1 HR 30 MIN
  • SERVINGS: 4
  • •MAKE-AHEAD
  • •STAFF-FAVORITE
  • •VEGETARIAN

Here is one case in which you shouldn’t buy best-quality ingredients for a dish: The coffee beans that the thin-skinned winter squash bake in cannot be reused, so be sure to use inexpensive ones.

  1. 1 pound unflavored coffee beans
  2. 4 small winter squash, such as delicata or baby dumpling, scrubbed
  3. 1/2 cup crème fraîche
  4. Salt and freshly ground pepper
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Spread the coffee beans in a medium roasting pan and nestle the squash into the beans. Roast the squash for about 1 hour, until very tender; turn them halfway through cooking.
  2. Cut each squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the crème fraîche into each squash half and season with salt and pepper. Serve right away.