One of my favourite ways to cook vegetables is to roast them. I love a variety of veggies but autumn/winter root veg are often preferred. Autumn or Winter vegetables often remind me of cosy winter nights in. Although the first place I learned to roast lots of veggies was in Australia. It’s not the typical food item you would think about roasting in a warmer climate but I have to say it was so tasty.
When I returned from down under and I eventually moved out with my now husband Howard I started to cook for the both of us. We enjoy a roast dinner every so often so we will often roast vegetables to eat with it. It’s not until recently that I started to roast other veg like butternut squash. Now I have started I just can’t seem to stop.
Butternut squash roasted is so tasty and sweet. Therefore I thought a spice like cinnamon would go well. The sweet cinnamon helped to draw out the sweetness from the butternut squash. For me the squash became slighty sticky and sweet. When I left it to cool and added it to the quinoa it became a yummy lunchtime treat. It was so delicious that I had to share the recipe with you.
What is your favourite way to cook a butternut squash? Let me know in the comments below and please don’t forget to like and follow me.
Serves 4
Equipment
- Sharp knife
- Chopping board
- Vegetable peeler
- Baking tray
- Tablespoon
- Teaspoon
- Saucepan
- Stirring/serving spoon
Ingredients
- Butternut squash x 1 medium
- Onion x 1
- Ground sweet cinnamon x 1 tbsp
- Dried mixed herbs x 1 tsp
- Olive oil x enough to cover the butternut squash pieces
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Parma ham x 6 – 8 slices
- Quinoa x 300g
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C or gas mark 4.
- Peel, slice and dice the onion and put the piece into the baking tray.
- Cut the top and the bottom from the butternut squash.
- Peel the skin with the vegetable peeler.
- Next cut the squash lengthways and remove the seeds with the tablespoon.
- Now cut the squash into 2 centimetre pieces and put into the baking tray.
- Put these into the baking tray too.
- Sprinkle over the ground sweet cinnamon and dried mixed herbs.
- Drizzle oil over the top and add salt and pepper to your tastes.
- Toss all the ingredients together.
- Place the parma ham on top of the butternut squash.
- Once the oven has preheated put the baking tray in and roast the vegetables for 30 – 40 minutes.
- Meanwhile cook the quinoa.
- Wash the quinoa through the colander under the tap.
- Put the quinoa into the saucepan.
- Pour enough water to cover and then 2 centimetres above the quinoa.
- Turn the heat onto high and bring to the boil.
- Then leave to simmer until all the water disappears.
- When the quinoa is cooked set to one side.
- When the vegetables are golden brown, remove from the oven and leave to cool.
- Break the parma ham into pieces.
- Serve the quinoa into bowls and place the butternut squash and ham on top.
- Then serve and enjoy.
Roasted Butternut Squash, Parma Ham and Sweet Cinnamon Quinoa Salad was a hit in our house. The meal was so yummy and I have no doubts we will be eating this again soon. It was a quick and easy dinner to cook. There was not much prepare and there was also not much washing up either. It would be a scrummy dish served hot or cold. That means it can be eaten in winter or in summer and it was delicious as leftovers too. It would be a great dish to take on a picnic during the summer months or as a packed lunch for work or school too. However you decide to eat this dish, as always, please enjoy. Thank you xxx
Googies Kitchen Life 