Dressed Up Butternut Squash

I’ve had a butternut squash languishing on the counter for a week or two now, and while we know gourds can hang around a while it was time to cook it tonight. I was making a chicken and needed a hearty veggie side that could serve as a main dish for a veggie guest.

I love anything with a green sauce on top and in this one I am making a riff on a “gremolata” that I’m sure I originally picked up from Athena Calderone. From what I can tell, a gremolata is a fancy word for chopped parsley with citrus zest and no oil. I didn’t use garlic which is traditional, and I added some acid in the form of orange juice and sherry, which I was happy with. I liked how this came out and could have eaten this as a main. Feels like a fall dish but light and fresh enough to enjoy in the faux-fall we experience here in New Orleans.

Serves 4-6

You’ll need:

1 butternut squash

Sprinkles of Cinnamon, cumin, ground garlic, salt

drizzle of maple syrup

½ cup parsley, chopped

½ cup cilantro, chopped

zest and juice of one orange

Splash of sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar

¼ cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas), toasted

½ cup or less of Greek yogurt

Algae Cooking Club Cooking Oil or other high temp oil

To make:

pre heat oven to 400.

Peel, de-seed and slice butternut squash. On a large baking sheet, toss the butternut squash with a light drizzle of oil. Sprinkle with the spices, I like to use a touch more cinnamon than the cumin and garlic but you can adjust depending on how sweet or savory you want. Drizzle with maple syrup and toss again.

Put into the oven once preheated and roast for about 30 minutes, tossing occasionally, until they’re browned and somewhat crispy.

While it’s cooking, toast the pepitas in the toaster oven, on a stove top (don’t walk away!) or in the oven which is already going. I like to set timers when I toast in the oven because I inevitably forget and they only take about 4-5 minutes to toast.

Make the orange gremolata:

Combine chopped parsley and cilantro, zest the orange and squeeze some juice. Add a splash of vinegar of choice, and salt to taste.

To plate, I spread a layer of Greek yogurt on my serving dish, topped with the roasted butternut squash, and then sprinkled the gremolata and the warm pepitas. Serve immediately.