Time to enjoy this prickly squash’s sweet side!
The idea for this recipe came from Nick Foster, the amazing chef who cooked my father-in-law’s birthday dinner while we were on vacation in England’s Lake District a few years back. What a treat! His food was fantastic and—more importantly—he served a veggie dish that I loved from the very first bite. (A rare event for me!) I didn’t recognize the dish, though, so I inquired about what it was.
Butternut squash roasted with cumin, he said.
And I was shocked.
At the time, you see, I didn’t know one could roast squash. (I was very vegetable-y naïve then.) Beyond that, I’d always thought of cumin spicing up a good chili or curry, not squash. This chef knows his stuff, though, because the warm flavor of cumin sings with butternut squash, and roasting squash chunks browns the edges to a gentle crisp while making the sweet flesh inside meltingly tender. The result? Squash morsels that taste a bit like sweet potato fries—only better.
So go ahead, befriend that beautiful beige butternut squash sitting on your counter. (Just don’t grab it by the stem!)
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Roasted Butternut Squash with Cumin
(With general roasting guidelines gleaned from the roasted butternut squash recipe on the blog Kalyn’s Kitchen.) 11/13/12 UPDATE: This recipe has been edited to reduce the added oil, and I can promise you won’t miss it! Still tastes for all the world like butternut squash fries. Yum!
Prep time: 1 hour (20 minutes hands-on) Serves: 6
Ingredients:
1 large butternut squash (about 3 pounds; will yield around 8 cups of ¾” cubes)
2-3 Tbsp olive oil cooking spray
2 tsp cumin
½ tsp salt
Directions
Preheat oven to 450oF.
Preheat oven to 450oF.
Cut squash into ¾” cubes. (You want them as close as possible to the same size so they cook evenly.) I cut my squash into slices first, and then into chunks:
A 3-lb squash yields about 8 cups of cubes.
Toss squash cubes first with oilGive the cubes a quick spritz of cooking spray, toss, and then toss with cumin and salt. (Use more oil for richer squash.)
Spray two foil-lined rimmed baking sheets (or, if you’re me and still don’t have rimmed ones, two foil-lined cookie sheets) with oil. Arrange squash in a single layer.
Roast 30-40 minutes, turning every 15 minutes or so, until squash is tender and the edges of the chunks are a little browned. After the first 30 minutes, keep a close watch so the squash doesn’t burn.
Serve and enjoy!
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I'm Lee, an RD thriving on a healthy plant based diet.
Looks great & super easy. I think I'll give it a try tonight 🙂
Hi Jaime, thanks for stopping by! In case you haven't already made it, I suggest bringing the heat down a little bit (~425-450 F). I've lost track of how many times I've made these since posting this, but lower heat makes them a little less likely to scorch if you walk away at the wrong time. Not that I've ever done that…;-) Will be updating the recipe shortly!
Great to have this recipe handy. Making it again tonight!
Thanks Jeff! 😀