Roasted Butternut Squash with Spinach and Dried Cranberries
First, be forewarned. This is the BEST. THING. EVAR. and I am totally making it for Thanksgiving next week, as should you, even if you are Canadian and have already celebrated Thanksgiving.
Ok, now that we've gotten all that out of the way:
Roasted Butternut Squash with Spinach and Dried Cranberries*
I found that one large (about a food long and maybe 6" in diameter) butternut squash made enough for 6 or so very large servings.
First, heat the oven to around 375 and peel, clean, and cube the squash. Put it in a large bowl, large enough to toss it around and get it coated with deliciousness. Drizzle in some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and maple syrup. Add minced fresh ginger and garlic, a shake of cinnamon, and a tiny pinch of cayenne pepper. Toss everything to coat well, put on a large baking sheet (I used a 13 x 9" glass Pyrex, but a cookie sheet or whatever you can drum up would be fine).
[[GROSS OVERSIGHT on my part: no fresh herbs, which I had on hand. Dur. When I make this again I am going to add some orange juice and/or zest, rosemary, and maybe a little sage. Also, in the picture from which I got this idea there are definitely little oniony bits also, so I will try roasting up some shallots/onions too along with the squash.]]
Bake, stirring/flipping occasionally, until the squash is nice and tender. I baked it for about 30-40 minutes, and kind of wish I had done it longer so it had a more "roasted" outside. Put several good-sized handfuls of baby spinach leaves (or regular spinach torn up) in a big bowl and dump the hot squash on top. Let it sit for a minute so the spinach can wilt, then mix it around so it's evenly distributed. Top with dried cranberries (some walnuts might be nice too) and enjoy!
*I owe credit for this idea to the Wegmans food-y magazine, which randomly arrived at my apartment in the mail the other day. They had a picture of this dish, which they sell premade, and I thought, pfft, thanks for the sweet idea, Wegmans, but I can totally do this myself. Feel free to play around with these rough instructions in any way you see fit! I'd be interested to hear about any variations you creative chefs come up with.
Ok, now that we've gotten all that out of the way:
Roasted Butternut Squash with Spinach and Dried Cranberries*
I found that one large (about a food long and maybe 6" in diameter) butternut squash made enough for 6 or so very large servings.
First, heat the oven to around 375 and peel, clean, and cube the squash. Put it in a large bowl, large enough to toss it around and get it coated with deliciousness. Drizzle in some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and maple syrup. Add minced fresh ginger and garlic, a shake of cinnamon, and a tiny pinch of cayenne pepper. Toss everything to coat well, put on a large baking sheet (I used a 13 x 9" glass Pyrex, but a cookie sheet or whatever you can drum up would be fine).
[[GROSS OVERSIGHT on my part: no fresh herbs, which I had on hand. Dur. When I make this again I am going to add some orange juice and/or zest, rosemary, and maybe a little sage. Also, in the picture from which I got this idea there are definitely little oniony bits also, so I will try roasting up some shallots/onions too along with the squash.]]
Bake, stirring/flipping occasionally, until the squash is nice and tender. I baked it for about 30-40 minutes, and kind of wish I had done it longer so it had a more "roasted" outside. Put several good-sized handfuls of baby spinach leaves (or regular spinach torn up) in a big bowl and dump the hot squash on top. Let it sit for a minute so the spinach can wilt, then mix it around so it's evenly distributed. Top with dried cranberries (some walnuts might be nice too) and enjoy!
*I owe credit for this idea to the Wegmans food-y magazine, which randomly arrived at my apartment in the mail the other day. They had a picture of this dish, which they sell premade, and I thought, pfft, thanks for the sweet idea, Wegmans, but I can totally do this myself. Feel free to play around with these rough instructions in any way you see fit! I'd be interested to hear about any variations you creative chefs come up with.