JOANNA'S FOOD: family cooking, from scratch, every day


Friday, April 18, 2008

Softly spiced baked butternut


















Veggie dinner last night - I like to do at least one a week. This softly spiced baked winter squash was the star of the show.

Spicy baked butternut squash

1 butternut or other winter squash
olive oil
onion, garlic, shallot
pinenuts
the zest and juice of an orange
6 dates (sultanas would work, too)
ground cinnamon
parsley
mint


Slice one squash - I normally wouldn't peel it, but these are the last of the autumn bounty and their skin is getting a little tough six months after harvesting. Sprinkle with a little salt and some olive oil and bake in a hot oven for about 15 minutes, until starting to be tender.

Finely chop a medium onion and some garlic, a shallot too, if you have one. Gently cook these in some olive oil until they're soft. Add 1/2 a teaspoon of cinnamon, six chopped dates, a handful of pinenuts, the zest of an orange. Mix all this up and take off the heat.

Put the squash in a greased shallow baking dish, sprinkle with the onion mixture, and squeeze over the juice of the orange. You can do all this ahead. When you're ready, bake at 200C for 15-25 minutes (exact timings depend on whether the ingredients are cold or warm when you put the dish into the oven).

Chop equal quantities of parsley and mint. Sprinkle this onto the dish when it comes out of the oven.










Related posts

Stuffed butternut squash
Roast squash bites with pumpkin seed pesto
Pumpkin risotto

4 comments:

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Um, Joanna do you realize how incredibly good this looks. And then your directions make it like so easy peasy. I'm looking at a squash on my counter as we speak . . . .

Joanna said...

Thank you Tanna, a real compliment coming from an American, who know far more about squash than Europeans ever could

Funny how there are so many squash to be eaten up at this time of year ... This is easy and delicious - next time I'll use mixed spice, perhaps sultanas instead of dates.

I've got a lovely Crown Prince squash sitting in my kitchen, although it seems a shame to cut into that lovely duck-egg blue

Joanna

Anonymous said...

Wow... that is a feast for the eyes as well as the belly! Just gorgeous!

LisaRene said...

My kind of meal. When you have a healthy dinner like this one, there is always room for a little indulgent dessert!

Joanna - I just e-mailed you my HotM submission. Looking forward to the roundup!