Cooking Essentials: Preparing Butternut Squash

Are you trying to eat healthy this year? Did you vow to avoid anything canned? Do you find yourself at the grocery store staring at butternut squash and wondering what to do with it? How to prepare it? Well, you came to the right blog! In this post, I will tell you all about preparing butternut squash. I bought this beautiful winter vegetable from my local farmers' market; you should try it too. At your farmers' market, you will find seasonal organic and freshly picked vegetables and fruits, among other things. Butternut squash is a starchy squash, unlike zucchini and summer squash that have very little starch in them.
However, you will not consume more than one cup of butternut squash at once because it is on the sweet side and has very distinctive flavor. One cup of butternut squash has around 80 calories.

The most difficult part of preparing the butternut squash is actually cutting it, just like pumpkin. I highly advise you to use a sharp knife and cut the base. Once you do that, the task becomes a bit easier. Some recommend putting the squash in the microwave to soften it. 

Preheat the oven to 450 F

Make sure to wash the butternut squash first, cut the top. Cut the squash in half. I used my trusted Wusthof cleaver.

Scoop the seeds out. I think you can roast them but they seemed too small

Peel it using a vegetable peeler

Cut the squash in equal slices

Then chop it into one inch cubes

Add salt, pepper and one tablespoon of olive oil and mix

Place the butternut squash pieces in a roasting pan wrapped with aluminium foil. Spray the foil with nonstick spray

Roast in the oven for about 25-30 minutes until golden and tender

You can eat it as a side just the way it is; or you can wait for my next post to see how I will use it.

Enjoy
Nadine