Fresh Picks: Delicata Squash

Welcome to "Fresh Picks," in which we celebrate the seasonal produce we're obsessing over Right Now. We’ve highlighted spring’s beautiful green artichokes and summer favorites like strawberries and tomatoes. We've tucked into apples, and now it's time to dig into another fall fave.

Happy decorative (and non-decorative!) gourd season to all who celebrate. Winter squashes, aka gourds, are at their best right now, and while butternut gets a lot of love, delicata really deserves a spot in your cooking routine. 

There are so many reasons to love delicata squash. First of all, they’re gorgeous: a stripy beauty of a veg. Secondly, their skin is thin and delicate, becoming quite tender and tasty when cooked. That means you can skip the only downside of cooking winter squash, which is obviously all the peeling. All you need is a sharp knife to cut it into rings or cubes. 

Delicata’s flesh is mild and sweet; roasting or searing it concentrates its sugars and intensifies its autumnal flavor. Plus, these squashes are sweet little nutritional powerhouses: They’re high in fiber, as well as vitamins A and C, and are low on the glycemic index.  

Winter and summer squash (think zucchini and patty pan) are both from the same family of gourds—a category that has many species—but while summer squash is eaten early in the season when the skin is still soft, winter squashes stay on the vine longer, so their skin hardens and their flesh becomes sweet and dense. All squashes are native to the Americas and are one of the world’s oldest crops, having been cultivated for seven thousand years. Delicata is part of the cucurbita pepo gourd species, just like zucchini, spaghetti and acorn squashes. 

How to Select Delicata Squash

Choose delicata squash that are heavy for their size and firm all over, without any soft spots. Bumps and color variations are fine, but check for mold or bruises. If there’s a stem, it should be woody, almost like a cork. Skip squash that have a flexible greenish stem, as those have been harvested too early. Delicata should be a creamy yellow color with distinct green-orange stripes. 

How To Store Delicata Squash

Winter squash like delicata can keep well for months under the right conditions. Store the squash in a cool, dry place—not the refrigerator. Every now and then, check the side it’s sitting on to make sure it’s dry and hasn’t developed a soft spot. Putting the squash in a basket is a good way to ensure air flow. 

7 Ways to Cook With Delicata Squash 

Since delicata squash is incredibly versatile, it plays well in both sweet and savory flavor combinations. Here are some ideas to get you started.

1. Make the World’s Best Fall Salad

This Delicata Squash Salad with Maple Vinaigrette is a riot of autumnal flavors and textures, anchored by half-moons of delicata squash, seared and spiced with garam masala. A maple vinaigrette amps up the squash’s sweetness, while radicchio lends a pleasantly bitter crunch.

2. Stuff It

Delicata’s neat, cylindrical shape means that you can easily scoop out the seeds and then stuff it, making an impressive centerpiece. This one is filled with a hearty, sweet-and-salty mix of kale, pecans, dried cranberries and blue cheese, making it a vegetarian main dish worthy of holiday entertaining. 

3. Give It the Pasta Treatment

How do you improve on carbonara? Add a delicata. This pasta is already rich with pancetta, pecorino and egg yolks, plus roasted delicata, which lends its caramelized sweetness. It’s not traditional, but it is delicious. You could also purée delicata, stir it into some ricotta and use it as a pasta sauce or lasagna filling. It plays well with sage.

4. Roast ‘Em If You’ve Got ‘Em

Roasting is the most hands-off way both to caramelize delicata and get beautifully tender skin. This weeknight-friendly recipe deploys just two other main ingredients: bacon and maple syrup, for a richly savory-smoky-sweet side dish. 

5. Soup It Up

We love comfort food almost as much as we love getting out the big soup pot, so this recipe makes us very happy. Here, the squash is puréed with just onion, broth and cream. It’s a great place to start, but feel free to customize your soup with seasonings, like harissa or red curry paste, or toppings, like crisped chickpeas or croutons. 

6. Will It Casserole?

Obviously, yes. Winter squash’s vegetal sweetness combines beautifully with salty cheese, garlic and cream. All of those delicious things show up in abundance in this gratin (aka creamy casserole) recipe, a rich extravaganza of squash simmered in cream along with kale and then broiled with torn rye bread and Parmesan cheese. 

7. Take It Slow

High heat caramelizes squash beautifully, but there’s always something to be said for going low and slow, and not just for barbecue. In this clever, hands-off recipe, the squash cooks in olive oil with herbs, making it rich and smooth, almost like a confit.

Dare we say, we think you're ready to squash fall cooking.