I made this as a side dish to the beef stew. Since I’ve never made (or eaten) butternut squash, I really didn’t know what to expect. Secretly, I hoped it was as sweet as acorn squash.
As I stuck my knife in the squash I was became mildly panicked. My knife was stuck inside it. I didn’t expect it to be so super hard on the inside. So I did what I usually do when I need guidance, I turn to you-tube. There are tons of videos out there on how to prepare butternut squash, so I just picked the shortest one.
Then, as I cooked roasted the squash, I realized that I had no thyme. Of course I have every other spice known to man, but not thyme. So my friend just suggested I add rosemary instead…and that’s what I did.
Everyone was “falling over” this dish except me. I think it has to do something with the fact that I was never super crazy about vanilla. So why did I make this dish? Honestly, I have no clue. It sounded and looked good. I thought vanilla flavor would be more faint, which it was, but not faint enough for me.
My friend loved it so much, I gave her the leftovers to take home. So I think I would totally make this again, just go easier on the vanilla or maybe just add a lot more lemon juice (see recipe).
Roasted Butternut Squash with Walnuts and Vanilla
(recipe from simplyrecipes)
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 1 butternut squash, about 2 pounds, peeled, seeds removed, flesh cut into 1-inch cubes (see how to cut and peel a butternut squash)
- 3 bay leaves (if boiling the squash)
- Salt
- 1 heaping cup of walnuts (can substitute pecans or pine nuts)
- 2-3 Tbsp butter
- 2 teaspoons grated ginger
- 1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- Black pepper to taste
Directions:
1a If roasting Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat the cubed squash with a little vegetable oil and spread out onto a baking tray. Sprinkle with salt and roast until the cubes begin to brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven.
1b If boiling Put 4 cups of water into a medium-sized pot and add the bay leaves. Bring to a simmer. Add the squash to the pot. Boil, covered for 10 minutes. Drain.
2 Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and toast the walnuts. Stir frequently or they will burn. Once they they start to brown, and you can smell the aroma of toasted walnuts, remove from heat.
3 Melt the butter in the pan with the walnuts over medium-high heat. Toss the walnuts to coat with butter, then add the squash. Toss them to coat with butter.
4 Add the grated ginger, vanilla extract, black pepper, a little salt and dried thyme and toss once more. Turn off the heat and squeeze some lemon juice over everything. Taste for salt and lemon and add more to taste. If you want this to be a bit more luxurious, mix in another tablespoon of butter or two before serving.
