Roasted Butternut Squash

When someone mentions butternut squash the first thing that comes to mind is butternut squash soup that restaurants will often feature.  Unfortunately it has never sounded appealing to me.  I have this mental image of the squash being pureed like baby food and then heated.  And that's coming from someone who LOVES veggies, so I positively can't imagine what it's like for someone who won't eat their peas and carrots.

But I decided to venture into the butternut squash realm this past week when I went to my local produce market, Jaemor Farms, and saw heaping piles of the in-season vegetable.  Okay, well actually I picked it up thinking it was spaghetti squash (which I love), and was highly disappointed when I got home.  But we'll just say that I purchased it on purpose :)

Now what to do with it?  I scoured the internet for a recipe that looked interesting and finally came across one on one of my favorite sites, AllRecipes.  The recipe simply added a bit of flavor directly to the diced squash, but then let some roasting time in the oven take care of bringing that flavor to life.

While I still couldn't say that I like butternut squash more than regular squash or zucchini, the hubby and I were pleasantly surprised with how it turned out.  Hopefully you will be too!

Roasted Butternut Squash via AllRecipes
2 Tbsp fresh minced parsley
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 1/2 lbs butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
1/3 C finely grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In large bowl toss butternut squash with parsley, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.  Spread out onto lined baking sheet.  Bake 25 minutes and then sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Continue baking for approximately 20-30 more minutes, or until squash is just tender.

*Make sure to check on the squash periodically.  I cubed mine a bit smaller and they only took ~40 minutes to cook.