Cumin & chilli butternut squash wedges
Butternut squash is one of my favourite vegetables to eat, but only roasted! I love the way it sweetens and caramelises when cooked in this way, as opposed to the blandness of when it is just added it to a sauce and cooked in it. When roasted the cooking process itself adds flavour and improves the texture, plus you can really make it interesting by spiking with different spices.
Cumin and chilli is definitely a go-to combination for me, but I also like to use harissa blends or ras el hanout. Honestly, I could just eat a plate of roasted squash for dinner, but if you don’t quite feel the same way as me then it’s great with my vegan protein or lentil and bean chillis and guacamole.
Ingredients
Serves 6-8
1 butternut squash
2 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
1.5 tsp cumin
1 tsp chilli
A good pinch of sea salt
Method
Preheat the oven to 180ºc.
Chop the squash in half length ways, or thirds if it is particularly large, and peel.
Next chop each section in half down the middle and then into approx 3cm wedges (at the widest point). The length should be about 8cm as a rough guide.
Put the squash in a large tray or two making sure the wedges have enough space around them. If not they will steam, not brown.
Drizzle the squash with the oil then sprinkle over the spices evenly and mix to coat, sprinkle with salt and put in the oven for 15 minutes.
Open the door just an inch to let out the excess steam from the oven and close again for another 5 minutes. *A note on why I do this below*.
Now turn the squash so it browns on the other side, put back on the oven for a further 15 minutes. Turn one more and put back in the oven for a final 5 minutes.
Tip
By opening the oven door an inch, you release the excess steam so the squash will brown and have a lovely sweet caramelised flavour. I use this trick when roasting any vegetable as my oven isn’t great at venting excess steam, but you might not need to do this if yours if more efficient. Just check next time you’re roasting a tray of veggies - if you get a face full of steam then that could be why you’re not getting that tasty caramelisation.
Try to chop your wedges to a similar size as stated above so they cook according to the recipe. If they’re smaller there is a risk they’ll over cook, but if you keep an eye on them and reduce the times accordingly then they’ll be fine!
