No.158 Roast Curried Butternut Squash

When the dark nights come in you want warm hearty dinners without much hassle. This delievers on this promise. Butternut squash and red onion are already a classic fall combination. Robust spices bring out more of the sweet flavour. With this dish you can have your vegetables chopped the night before and have a throw in the oven dish.

You could use this for a suprise dish at a thanksgiving meal. It would work well with sweet potato too.

Serves: 3-4

Time: 1 hour

Difficulty: Straight Forward

1 Butternut Squash

2 Red Onions

2 Garlic Cloves

4cm piece of Ginger

1 teaspoon of Cumin Seeds

1/2 teaspoon of Fennel Seeds

1/2 teaspoon of Coriander Seeds

1 teaspoon of Chilli Poweder

5 Curry leaves (dried)

1/2 teaspoon of Ground Cinnamon

2 Black Cardamon Pods (optional)

2 Spring Onions

1 teaspoon of Nigella Seeds

2 tablespoons of Vegetable Oil

2 tablespoons of Coconut Oil

Salt & Black Peppper

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsisus (392 degrees Farhenheit). Add the vegetable oil and coconut oil to an oven proof dish. Place in the oven.
2. Peel, de-seed and dice the squash into small chunks.
3. Peel and slice the onion. Grate the ginger and garlic together.
4. Mix together the spices apart from the nigella seeds
5. Add the squash, onions, grated ginger and garlic together. Mix in the spices. Optionaly add 1/2 a tablespoon of cracked black pepper.
6. Remove the dish from the oven with the heated oil and add the mixed vegetables. Give a toss in the oil.
7. Return to the oven for 45 minutes, mixing the contents of the tray half way though the cooking time.
8. Top and tail the spring onions. Slice in half down the middle and in half across to form ribbons. Add to ice cold water.
9. Once removed from the oven salt to taste and garnish with the nigella seeds and spring onions.