Better Butternut Squash
First of all, according to the internet, butternut squash is a fruit!! Who knew??
I am steadily discovering that I like most veggies (and apparently the fruits that we think are veggies) when they are of a good quality and prepared well. And rest easy, prepared well doesn’t necessarily mean fancy. In fact, simple is usually better. Butternut squash is a great example of this. I had only had the pre-cubed option in a plastic bag from Trader Joe’s until recently. I found it to be pretty bland and a bit on the mushy side. And at one point, I had a perfectly good squash that looked beautiful in the fruit bowl for OVER A YEAR because I didn’t know how to cook it (and apparently couldn’t be bothered with a quick google). Last week I got a butternut squash in my local farm box (thanks, Farm Cart Organics!!) and learned how to easily prepare it. So grab yourself a squash and try this out.
Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.
Cut the squash fruit in half and scoop out all the seeds and stringy weird stuff. Cut the squash up into whatever size chunks you like (you can keep the skin on!). Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread on a baking sheet and throw it in the oven! Cook for 30-40 minutes. When you think it is done, cook it for 5-10 minutes more. It seems to get extra sweet in that last few minutes.
We may have overcooked it just a tad this time, but it ended up tasting extra good a little crispy!
Turns out butternut squash is sweet and…buttery! Quite a delicious fruit vegetable.
Enjoy!