Prosciutto-Wrapped Winter Squash with Sage


Entertaining anytime soon?  Here’s a little something that you might enjoy. Not entertaining soon?  File this one away for your next cold season party! 

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This idea is adapted from Kiwi Magazine’s recipe by Jenna Helwig.  I just love it and consider it the fall version of prosciutto-wrapped cantaloupe.  Sweet and savory in all the right places, it’s been a favorite appetizer during the winter holiday season.

The delicate salty flavor of prosciutto is a rare indulgence at the Anderson household.  Traditionally prosciutto is an Italian item, hence not necessarily a locavore ingredient.  If you look around a bit, however, some good prosciutto is available locally, so enjoy! 

The squash I’m working with is not a butternut, but a “neck squash”.  I picked it up while grabbing my turkey from the Springdell farmstand on Wednesday.  The neck squash itself is similar to a butternut, with juuuust a little less sweetness and creaminess.  Why is it called a neck squash, you ask?  Perhaps this is why?

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Prosciutto-Wrapped Winter Squash with Sage

Ingredients

  • 32 1-inch cubes of butternut or other winter squash
  • 1 tbsp melted butter
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 32 small and tender sage leaves
  • 1/4 pound of prosciutto, cut into 2 inch by 1 inch squares
  • Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 425.  

  1. Line a rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper.  
  2. Combine melted butter and maple syrup and brush it on your squash cubes as you place them onto the cookie sheet.  
  3. Roast squash cubes for about 25-35 minutes until just tender and with a little browning & caramelization starting .  Allow them to cool completely before placing a sage leaf on top of each cube, then wrap each cube in a strip of prosciutto and secure with a toothpick.
  4. Bring the oven temperature down to 400 degrees and return the cubes to the oven for 8-10 minutes until the prosciutto crisps a little.  

Notes-

  • If you’re not achieving that crispness on the edges of your prosciutto, you can broil the appetizers for just a minute, but pay attention so as not to go overboard!
  • Sage is a hardy herb that you’ll have a good chance of finding in the herb box until the snows land.  If I can’t hit the farmstand the day I’m making these, I’ll soak the leaves in a bowl of water in the fridge to keep them moist until I’m ready to use them.  

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About Jess

Jess Anderson is the creator of CSA|365 and is passionate about the local food movement. A long time member of Springdell and a busy mother of two, Jess loves keeping her family fed by honest local food.

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