1. Preheat the oven to 400°F
2. Using a peeler, peel the squash, making 2 passes to remove all the hard part close to the skin. Cut the butternut in half, remove the seeds and place it rounded side up on a board.
3. Place two Chinese chopsticks on each side of the half squash, along it. The chopsticks will serve as a guide when cutting, because the Hasselback concept is to cut finely but without going all the way.
4. So, using a large, sharp knife, taking care of your fingers, cut the butternut into very thin slices of 0.3 mm max, holding the Chinese chopsticks so that the knife is stopped before touching the board. We obtain half a squash cut very finely, but with the slices held together.
5. Place the squash in a baking dish and repeat the steps with the other half.
6. Using a brush, brown the butternut halves with olive oil, salt them then bake them for 40-45 minutes at 400.
7. At the end of this first cooking, remove the butternuts from the oven.
8. In a small bowl, mix the maple syrup, olive oil and chosen balsamic and brush the squash halves several times and generously. Sprinkle with the chosen finish and bake for another 10 minutes at 400.
9. Serve as a garnish for grilled poultry or meat.

Tips: You can do the first cooking up to 4 days in advance and on the big day you apply the chosen finish and bake for 20-25 minutes in an oven preheated to 350.

Please note, the cooking instructions are for a butternut weighing 1.3-1.5 kg. If the butternut is larger or smaller, you will need to adjust the cooking time.

VARIANTS:
The magic of this recipe is that depending on your tastes and what you have on hand, you can personalize the finish by playing on the different flavors of olive oil and balsamic.
– Truffle oil / Maple and bourbon balsamic / Grated Parmesan
– Smoked olive oil / Traditional dark balsamic / Diced smoked Gouda
– Olive oil with garlic / Balsamic Italian herbs / Diced mozzarella
– Sesame oil / Pear and cranberry balsamic / Chopped walnuts

You can also replace the maple syrup with liquid honey.

Enjoy your food!