Roasted Squash and Shallots

I adore winter squash. I love it in the traditional way, baked and scooped out and salted and peppered and buttered with a bit of cream to enrich it gloriously.

But I love it roasted as well, bringing out the natural sweetness in the oven. I found this recipe, and changed it slightly, and we had it as a Thanksgiving side and, well, let’s just say, that none of it went to waste.

Enjoy.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 butternut squash, peeled and diced fairly small (1/2 -3/4-inch cubes)
• 4 shallots, peeled and quartered
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Place the squash in a plastic bag and add enough olive oil to get them all covered, and then turn  onto a parchment lined baking sheet and roast at 425° until fork tender. This will take maybe 30 minutes. I would turn with a spatula about every 10 minutes, so that you get a lot of charring.
2. In a saute pan, add the 2 tbsp olive oil and saute the shallots, letting them caramelize. Stir often and keep the heat at medium so they don’t burn.
3. When done, mix together one tablespoon of the olive oil, the mustard, maple syrup and salt and pepper together.
4. Place the squash and shallots in a serving dish, and pour the dressing over and mix lightly to distribute.

SERVES: 8

NOTES: You could use sweet potatoes (as the recipe called for) or any other winter squash that you really like. Also you could use regular onions instead of the shallots. You might also consider adding some toasted walnuts or pecans to the dish.

SOURCE: Inspired by Rachelcooks.

OVEN TEMP:425°

OVEN TIME: 30 minutes

Related articles

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• Maple Roasted Squash (mountainmaplegirl.wordpress.com)
• Squash Roasting (thevanillabeandream.wordpress.com)
• roasted butternut squash (instructables.com)

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Roasted Butternut Squash with Radicchio and Onion

As some of you may have picked up on, I’m trying to develop a stronger reliance on vegetables as a centerpiece of the meal. It doesn’t mean that we don’t have meat too, but I do like the veggie to be of such a succulent quality that you want to eat MORE of it and less of the meat.

This one fits the bill entirely and was adapted from Simply Recipes. I didn’t change very much. It was so very good we ate every darn bit of it.

I hope you like it too.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks.
• 1 lg onion, cut into wedges, leaving the root end intact as best you can
• 1 head of radicchio, also cut into wedges, leaving the root end intact as best you can
• Olive oil
• 1/2 pine nuts or roasted pumpkin nuts, or frankly any others you wish. Toast them.
• 1/4 c chopped parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/3 c grated Parmesan cheese (or similar such as Romano or Pecorino
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 425°.
2. Toss the veggies in a plastic bag with the a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Salt and pepper and shake to uniformly coat.
3. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet, without crowding.
4. Roast until the edges start to get nicely dark (caramelization). Turn about half way through. The squash will take the longest the onions next and the radicchio the shortest time, so separation on the sheet will make it easier to remove as they are done. You want them cooked through.
5. Toast your nuts of choice in a pan on the stove on medium heat, for a couple of minutes, shaking after a minute.
6. Place the cooked veggies in a bowl, Add the nuts and the parsley. Add more pepper and salt if needed. Drizzle with the vinegar and toss gently.
7. Sprinkle the top with the cheese.

SERVES: 4-6 generous servings