My favorite way to prepare butternut squash is by roasting it. The first step is to peel and cut the squash, and I had no clue how to properly do this until several weeks ago. I had hated to peel butternut squash because I used a chopping knife and hacked away at the skin. But as this slideshow from Cooking Light demonstrates, there is a much easier way to peel the squash: using a vegetable peeler. My life has changed. Seriously. More to the point, how did I not think of using a vegetable peeler earlier? I usually cut the butternut squash into cubes before roasting. This way, I can easily incorporate the squash to other dishes throughout the week. I tossed the squash with about 1/2 TBS olive oil and sprinkled a bit of salt and dried herbs on it. Then, I put them into the oven at 375 degrees F for about 40 minutes, or until I can easily pierce the butternut squash with a fork.
This is how I devoured some of the butternut squash beauties:
Ingredients for Power Lunch Salad Bowl Makes 1 Serving Prep Time: 5 minutes; Cooking Time: None (assuming the squash is cooked)
1 1/2 cup baby spinach 1 1/2 cup arugula 1/3 cup chickpeas 1/3 cup roasted butternut squash 1/3 cup plum tomatoes 1/3 cup chopped yellow pepper 2 radishes, sliced 1/4 medium avocado 1 TBS soy nuts
I also adapted a miso sesame dressing recipe, and it was amazing! I have bought miso dressing at my local farmers market for $6 a bottle. NEVER AGAIN! Ingredients for Low-Fat Miso Sesame Dressing (adapted from All Recipes) Makes about 2/3 cup of dressing Prep Time: 5 minutes; Cooking Time: None
3 TBS white miso paste 4 TBS rice vinegar 2 TBS agave nectar 1 TBS fresh ginger, minced 1/2 TBS sesame oil 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds 1/4 lemon, juiced
Directions
Notes
I love adding garlic to my cooking (if you haven’t noticed already), so I’m going to add a few cloves of minced garlic to this recipe the next time I make it.
Q: What are your favorite ways to eat butternut squash?
