This recipe is a nice alternative side dish to your Thanksgiving table, none of the cloying sweetness, but still sweet to please the kids, with a bit of good-for-you crunch.

Rosemary Roasted Squash and Sun Choke Chips

Serves 8-12 (depending on your portioning)

Ingredients:

4 Acorn Squash, with seeds and inner fibers removed, cut in ¼ pieces

4 tablespoons Olive Oil

½ teaspoon Kosher Salt

1 teaspoon Rosemary, coarsely chopped

4 tablespoons Butter

2 teaspoons ground Cardamom

½  teaspoon Kosher Salt

¼ cup orange juice

1 tablespoon finely grated orange peel

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

In shallow baking dish place squash, coat with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt.

Roast about one hour.

Remove and place in food processor with other ingredients, pulse to a coarse purée.

Place in serving dish and keep warm until ready to serve.

For flavorful crunch, top your squash with a layer of:

Sun Choke Chips

Ingredients:
4 large Sun Chokes, sliced thinly (don’t worry about peeling, leave skins on)

1 teaspoon kosher coarse salt

1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
2 tablespoons Fresh Rosemary, coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon Fresh Thyme, coarsely chopped

3 cloves of garlic, peeled and left whole
2-3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

On a parchment lined baking sheet, place sun chokes and garlic.

Toss with olive oil to lightly coat.

Toss with half of your salt, pepper, and herbs. Bake 30 minutes.

Remove garlic cloves

Reduce heat to 200 degrees, toss with remaining salt and herbs, continue baking for about 30-45 minutes or until Sun Chokes dry out a bit and start to crisp like a potato chip.  Periodically turn over chips and check for doneness. Depending on your oven, you may need to adjust cooking times.