Tag Archives: lime

Delicata Squash with Chili-Lime Vinaigrette

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Must tell you about a simple and sumptuous recipe I tried on Monday night. I wanted to try a new preparation for my 2 small Delicata squash that I picked up on Saturday. I liked the late fall pasta recipe I made a few weeks ago, but wanted to prepare the Delicata as a side dish.  After some research, I picked this recipe from Smitten Kitchen that was originally made for acorn squash. It was delicious, and so easy because you don’t even need to peel Delicata. The Chile-lime vinaigrette was tasty enough to eat on its own. I wound up using the vinaigrette as a dipping sauce and would recommend it as delicious dipping sauce for any roasted vegetables, fish, bread, use your imagination.

Roasted Delicata Squash from Summer Tomato

Roasted Delicata Squash with Chile-Lime Vinaigrette
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen and Gourmet, October 2006

Ingredients:

2 small delicata squash, or 1 large
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, or to taste
1 to 2 teaspoons finely chopped jalapeno
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450°F. Halve squash lengthwise, then cut off and discard stem ends (no need to peel). Scoop out seeds and cut squash  into half moons 1/2-inch-wide slices. Toss squash with black pepper, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons oil on a baking sheet, then arrange in 1 layer. Roast squash, switching position of pans halfway through roasting, until squash is tender and undersides of wedges are golden brown, 20- 25 minutes.

While squash roasts, mince garlic and mash to a paste with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Transfer paste to a small bowl and whisk in lime juice, jalapeno pepper (to taste), cilantro, and remaining 1/4 cup oil until combined. Transfer squash, browned sides up, to a platter and drizzle with vinaigrette, or use as dipping sauce.

Yield: 2-4 servings as a side dish

Shrimp Tacos and All the Fixins

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Novagirl, I thought your recipe for Honey Lime Shrimp Tacos was awesome.  I made a few modifications here and there. I added a tablespoon of orange juice to the marinade as I was low on lime juice and used a grill pan to cook the shrimp in my apartment. Here’s the final product:

Honey Lime Shrimp Tacos

The grill pan worked like a charm. I cooked the shrimp about 2 minutes on the first side, then 1 minute on the second side and they were perfect. Still tender and slightly charred. They missed the smokiness you’d get from a real grill, but this definitely worked in a pinch.

Grilling Shrimp on Grill Pan – side 1

Grilling Shrimp on Grill Pan – side 2

Grilled Honey Lime Shrimp

I was pleasantly surprised at how well the shrimp turned out on the grill pan. Had never cooked them on it before, and it was fast, tasty and gave them nice char marks, too.
Here is the spread of fixins that I prepared: shredded cabbage, sliced radishes, shredded cheese, salsa verde, pico de gallo, chips and soft corn tortillas.  The cabbage was from my CSA pick-up. and the radishes were a gift from Steve at Berkshire Bounty Farm. As an aside, I still have over half a head of green cabbage left after making a large batch of coleslaw and using it here as an accompaniment to the tacos. It is hard work making use of an entire head of cabbage.

Shrimp Taco Fixins

A few final words on this meal. The shrimp and salsa verde got big thumbs up. The wine pairing of Pinot Gris with the spicy salsas and shrimp worked well, too. The pico de gallo, while easy on the eyes, was lacking something. We thought it was salt, so Hubs added a healthy dash, but that wasn’t it. I think I was too aggressive on seeding the tomatoes, leaving it too dry as I had suspected earlier. Lesson learned.