Na*me-Inspired Roasted Squash (Vegan Friendly)

Cookgirl's Note:

Modified from a recipe found on realfooddigest.com. First the recipe was stripped down by omitting the dressing, candied nuts; adding and subtracting a few ingredients. The flavors were inspired by Middle Eastern/North African/Indian cuisine. Olive oil can replace the butter if you wish. The amounts of ingredients listed can vary depending on the size of the squash. Did you know?: 'Sugar Loaf' squash "...is an improved version of 'Delicata'. Very sweet. Excellent storage qualities. Developed by Dr. James Baggett of Oregon State University. A winter squash variety."

• Total Time: 1 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 55 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 1 squash

Sauce

• 1 butternut squash ('Delicata', 'Sweet Loaf', etc.) or 1 other sweet squash ('Delicata', 'Sweet Loaf', etc.)
• 2 tablespoons cold pressed coconut oil (I used a combination of coconut oil and butter) or 2 tablespoons butter (I used a combination of coconut oil and butter)
• 2 -3 tablespoons pomegranate molasses, to taste (depends on how big the squash is)
• 1 tablespoon honey (or other sugar of your choice ( brown sugar, raw sugar, agave, etc.)
• 1/2 teaspoon sumac
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
• white pepper, to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt (to taste)

Garnish

• 3 tablespoons dried barberries or 2 tablespoons dried cranberries
• toasted walnuts (almonds, pistachios, pine nuts, etc. can be substituted)

Directions:

1. Roasted Butternut Squash: Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Cut in half lengthwise and discard seeds.
3. Arrange the two halves on a parchment lined sheet pan.
4. Spoon and/or sprinkle the oil/butter, pomegranate molasses, honey and spices on the squash. Don't worry about mixing it all together. The heat from the roasting will do that.
5. Roast squash for 45 minutes, or until starting to brown on the edges, adding the dried barberries or dried cranberries the last 10-12 minutes of roasting.
6. Serve hot. Tastes best hot or at room temperature.

Reviews

[Elmotoo]

Sorry for the delay in reviewing....we all loved this, especially the tartness of the pomegranate molasses. I used butter. I also used a butternut that I already had sliced thinly. Worked wonderfully. Thank you! made for NA/ME Tag 4/12.

[Dienia B.]

this is good ,its tart and spicy and it is a nice side dish i like how cinnamon works with coriander and sumak

[UmmBinat]

A lot of spice, not spicy though but I think this would be better with less quantity of each. I used a small to more medium sized butternut squash, half refined coconut oil (I will be sure to only by cold pressed next time), half butter, Cortas pomegranate molasses (which so far is the favorite over Yamaha brand), pasteurized creamed honey, as that is what I had on hand, freshly ground black pepper instead of white for the same reason, dried barberries (found in Persian shops) soaked to get rid of lots of dirt and to plump somewhat, then heated about 1 tbs white sugar and a little Iranian rose water in a pan and added the berries, mixed it up and then continued with the recipe using dry pan toasted pistachio nuts, which I chopped after toasting, plus the rest of the ingredients. Served over a nice rice dish with Balkan (thick, creamy) yogurt. Made for FEBRUARY 2012 NA/ME TAG :)