I would never have bought this squash had the name not included ‘dumpling’. Why ‘dumpling’? Why not ‘stripe-y’ or ‘squash-a-licious’?

dumpling squash

It does melt in your mouth sort of like dumplings do, and I suppose the small size makes it rather cute like a dumpling…

Dumpling squash flesh

Name aside, here’s why this squash should be on your grocery list: it’s nutty-sweet and the skin is edible. That means you don’t have to worry about chopping off fingers while attempting to get to the flesh (I’m thinking butternut squash here – such a pain).

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And it makes a delicious first course roasted with a drizzle of maple syrup and paired with a bitter/ salty frisée salad tossed with bacon bits, caramelized squash seeds, and warm bacon sherry vinaigrette.

Recipe: set oven to 450˚F. Slice dumpling squash into 2″–inch slices. Scrape out seeds, clean them, and set aside. Place squash slices in a roasting pan and season with S & P, then drizzle olive oil and maple syrup over to coat. Cook for 10 minutes and flip slices in pan. Add seeds to roasting pan. Cook until squash is tender about 10 minutes longer.

Meanwhile chop 3 slices of bacon and heat in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat until crispy. Drain over paper towel reserving 1 T of the hot bacon fat. Whisk bacon fat with 2T olive oil and 2T sherry vinegar plus S & P. Toss dressing with frisée and bacon bits and serve squash slices on top with seeds to garnish.