Roasted Butternut Squash

Roasted Roots with Ginger & Lime Juice

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

with Ginger & Lime Juice

Here is the suped up version of my Roasted Winter Squash with a Twist.

In this version I use Jewel and/or Garnet Yams and/or Sweet Potatoes and mix in Butternut Squash and/or Acorn Squash (whatever is available). Although, did you know, that the “Yams” we consume in North America are actually Sweet Potatoes? To get true Yams, apparently requires some effort, one must source them from a market that specializes in Tropical produce. This link: Sweet Potatoes & Yams gives the breakdown for anyone interested in clarifying the confusion.

For me it was particularly interesting because I am exploring Eat Right 4 Your Type. For me as a type O, Sweet Potatoes are beneficial and Yams are Neutral. Turns out, the Yams I thought I was eating are actually ALL sweet potatoes (Yay!), but are labeled as Yams at the grocery store. It all kind of makes my head swim though.

UPDATE: Recently, I got the results from the Secretor Test. Turns out I am a Non-Secretor, which means that both Yams and Sweet Potatoes are neutral for me. I’ll still keep eating them, but maybe not quite as often!

Anyhow, this recipe has become quite a staple. I love it! And now that I’ve made it so often, I can whip off a batch in no time. Sadly, it disappears just as quickly. The kids will sample it from time to time when they are feeling adventurous, but mostly it’s a dish that my husband and I eat. Lucky for my husband, who is an AB – Secretor, both Yams and Sweet Potatoes are beneficial.

It’s good cold, but outstanding when served warmed up – which brings out all the flavours.

Kitchen Supplies:

  • Cutting board
  • Knife
  • Vegetable peeler
  • Bowl for mixing
  • 2 Cookie Sheets
  • Parchment paper (optional)
  • Grater

Ingredients:

  • 3-4 Sweet Potato Tubers (mix of varieties) peeled & cut into chunks
  • Butternut Squash or Acorn Squash (optional) peeled & cut into slices
  • 1 tsp. Fresh Ginger peeled and grated Or 1 Tsp. ground ginger root (more or less depending on how spicy you like it)
  • 1 tsp. or less of Dried Red Chili Pepper Flakes
  • 1 – 2 TBSP. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Juice from 1/2 to 1 Fresh Lime
  • 1 Cup Fresh Cilantro, leaves plucked from stems & finely chopped
  • 3 Scallions (green onions), chopped

Instructions:

  • Preheat Oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Wash, peel and cut sweet potatoes and squash into desired shapes and sizes. Enough for two cookie sheets or more for batches.
  • Place in large mixing bowl. Add approximately 2 TBSP. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I usually just make a splash with it into the bowl).

Peel & grate, 1-2 inches of fresh ginger.

I use a spoon to peel the ginger. It works much better than a vegetable peeler.

1 tsp. grated – depending how spicy you like it 🙂

Add approximately 1 TBSP. of Dried Red Chili Pepper Flakes to the mixing bowl.

Here is a picture showing 1 tsp. dried ginger, less than 1 TBSP. chili flakes and a 1/2 tsp. ground Himalayan Salt.

However, of late I’ve not been adding any salt.

Stir to combine and coat the vegetables.

Transfer to parchment lined cookie sheets.

Place into pre-heated oven for 30 minutes (depending on oven). Check periodically. I find that the sweet potatoes need 10 additional minutes for a nice roasted appearance. For the squash, I usually roast them 20 additional minutes (but turn them over when I take the sweet potatoes out of the oven), to achieve the same roasted appearance on both sides.

Once the vegetables have been removed from the oven I allow them to cool slightly before returning them to the mixing bowl.

While the vegetables were roasting I would have added to the mixing bowl:

1. Separated 1 Cups worth of cilantro leaves from their stems and chopped them.

2. Cut up the scallions

3. Squeezed the juice from 1 fresh lime

Note:  I usually only add the juice from one lime and see how it tastes. It’s easy enough to add more the next day. I’ve made the mistake of adding too much lime juice and regretting it, but easy enough to remedy by adding more roasted vegetables.

Also, I’ve noticed that not all limes are juicy, so I always buy 4 or 5 limes at a time. A few times I’ve cut open limes and though they ‘feel’ perfectly juicy from the outside, they are completely dry; it’s disappointing when you need them right then and there.

Finishing Up:

Depending on how things look I may add a splash of Extra Virgin Olive Oil to the bowl and mix it with the lime juice, cilantro and scallions. Then I toss in the Roasted Vegetables and gently combine to coat the vegetables well. I then cover the bowl or transfer to a food storage container and refrigerate overnight or for a few hours.

Reheat before serving.

Dedicated to my friend V, whose husband isn’t fond of cilantro, but he gave the dish a try when they visited us last month – and he said he liked it. So maybe for all those averse to cilantro, give this recipe a try…(?).

Roasted Winter Squash With A Twist

This side dish has a twist…

a twist of Lime Juice.

Where I live it’s cold outside. Most days are still above zero, but I’m more of a summer person and don’t do very well eating cold vegetables in winter time. As a result, I have been making a lot of roasted squash and root vegetables this fall and winter. This is one of my new favourite dishes. I first tasted it at Whole Foods Market‘s hot food bar. It’s not everyday that all ingredients will be on my acceptable list. I think I have left out one or two spices from the original, the following is my version. It tastes equally good hot or cold. And really good the next day for sure!

Ingredients:

  • 1 Organic Butternut Squash
  • 1 Organic Acorn Squash
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Himalayan Salt
  • 1/4 – 1/2 Cup Chopped Fresh Italian Parsley
  • Fresh Lime Juice Squeezed from half or from all of one lime, (depending on preference).

Preparation: 

  • Wash Squashes.
  • Cut stem and bottom knot from squash, discard.
  • Cut Squash length-wise into halves.
  • Remove seeds and strings, discard.
  • Placing cut side down, cut squashes into inch thick slices and cut away tough outer skins – as shown below.

Place Cut Squash pieces in a mixing bowl. Splash in:

  • 1TBSP. of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a light sprinkling of Himalayan Salt
  • Stir with a wooden spoon.

  • Arrange on a cookie sheet
  • Place into 350 degree preheated oven. Or go with whatever oven temperature works best for roasting. I use Parchment Paper. (below)

This next part is the time consuming part.

  • I set my oven timer for 30 minutes and let the oven do its work, checking the squash periodically.
  • Usually, at the 30 minute mark, I add another 20 minutes AND drop the heat to 300 degrees, or lower depending on how the squash looks.
  • Depending on how the squash are coming along I either take them out and turn each piece over or I let it continue baking longer.
  • Once each piece is turned I usually bake the squash for another 30 minutes 
  • AND lower the oven temperature to 275 degrees
  • Again, it all depends on how they look. I like them to develop a little caramelized look on the edges…not burnt nor dried out.

Here’s how my batch looked after approximately 90 minutes. In hind sight, I should have doubled my batch and had two cookie sheets going.

At the time of writing this, there is none left. We ate the last of the left overs tonight.

After they have cooled, slide them into a mixing bowl. I pick up my parchment paper and allow them to slide into the bowl.

  • Add 1/4  to 1/2 Cup of chopped Fresh Italian Parsley
  • Squeeze the juice from half of one Lime. (You can always add more later if it’s not enough).
  • Mix gently. Carefully to not squash your squash!

I find that the oil and Salt that the Squash bakes in is sufficient and there is no need to add extra.

Now, doesn’t this look like a measly amount for all the time spent in the kitchen? In total it equalled about 2 Cups! For this reason, I try to make a double batch. Luckily, my kids haven’t tried it yet and don’t know what they’re missing. Believe me, I’m not encouraging them to try this one, this one is ALL MINE. 🙂

Let me know if you give it a try. ENJOY!

Oh! And I used my iPhone and the Instagram App to take all these pictures, while I was preparing the rest of our dinner.