Roasted Butternut Squash

Fall is upon us! With it comes a host of winter vegetables like pumpkins, squashes, beets, brussels sprouts, parsnips, turnips and so on. Having lived in a tropical country most of my life, some of these winter veggies are a little unfamiliar to me. But they are also intriguing and I love to try new things. How else are you supposed to tell if you like them or not? So for starters I picked Butternut squash.

Now since it’s a vegetable I’m not entirely familiar with (I’ve eaten it, but never cooked it myself), I decided to keep it very simple and just roast it. The results were great! The little chunks of Butternut Squash were soft and melt-in-your-mouth creamy. It was so good, I decided to take it a step further and did 2 more recipes (coming soon) using the roasted butternut squash and making a puree of it. But here’s a basic how to roast butternut squash…

**Also see: How to Cook Spaghetti Squash

Roasted Butternut Squash with Thyme Recipe

Ingredients:
1 Butternut Squash
2-3 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp fresh Thyme

Method:
– Preheat your oven to 420F. Then it’s time to tackle cutting the Butternut
Squash. You’ll need good chef’s knife. Start by cutting the top off so that it’s in two manageable pieces, then cut it length-wise.
– Scoop out the seeds and membrane from the bottom half of the squash. Then cut the squash into one-inch strips and then cubes. Take off the skin on the edge pieces and don’t worry too much about making them cubes.
– Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and season the butternut squash with salt, pepper and the leaves of fresh thyme.
– Place the cut squash on a couple of baking sheets, well spread out so they roast & steam. Cook the squash at 420F for about 20-25 mins, turning the pieces over half way through to roast evenly.
– Serve with an extra drizzle of olive oil and a garnish of fresh thyme.