Oven Roasted Butternut Squash

With the Canadian Thanksgiving coming up this next weekend, I have been testing a few side dishes to see what might or might not work. I love, LOVE butternut squash.
For me it just would not be Thanksgiving without squash of some sort. I spied a recipe on Healthie Foodie the other day for a butternut squash roasted in the oven.
Oven Roasted Butternut Squash

I wanted to try it because it was deemed healthy. We have enough calories that we will be splurging on during our holiday celebration, so I thought a healthy side would not go amiss.
I love roasting vegetables. It seems to bring out and enhance their natural sweetness. Usually when a vegetable has been roasted there is no need to add anything else into the mix. Their natural flavors shine!
Oven Roasted Butternut Squash

My mother always cooked squash to go along with our Thanksgiving dinners. I confess. I did NOT like it. It was my least favorite of all the holiday dishes.
I think she just boiled it, and it was pretty blah. Watery and blah. Sorry Mom! Mom cooked a lot of wonderful things. Squash was not one of them!
Oven Roasted Butternut Squash

The roasting of the squash like this keeps it nice and sweet and dry. There is no need to peel the squash or even to cut it up. Just cutting it in half is all you need to do.
It roasts pretty much dry, with only touch of olive oil and seasoning, and the merest hint of water to keep it from burning.
This results in nicely caramelized edges, which only add to the sweetness and flavor of the squash. I love, LOVE that this is such a simple thing to do.

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE OVEN ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH
It's simple, really. I love recipes like this that don't require a bazillion ingredients.

1 medium to large butternut squash
3 to 4 TBS olive oil
salt and black pepper, a generous sprinkle of each
1/4 cup (60ml) water

My squash was only a smallish one, because there is only me. I will be doing a much larger one for Thanksgiving. The original recipe called for extra virgin olive oil.
To me that was a bit of a waste. I never use extra virgin olive oil for cooking. I use light olive oil for cooking.
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. You can't get much simpler than that!

HOW TO COOK OVEN ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH
The hardest part of this is cutting the squash in half. Winter squashes can be quite hard, so do use a sharp knife and take great care when cutting it.
A dull knife is a dangerous tool requiring much more pressure to cut through a hard vegetable. One slip of the knife and you can very easily injure yourself because of the extra pressure required.
Oven Roasted Butternut Squash

Preheat the oven to 375*F/190*C/ gas mark 5. Line a medium sized baking sheet (with a lip) with some aluminum foil. Set aside.

Wash the squash, remove the stem end and then cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and discard. Place onto the baking sheet, cut sides up.Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Flip over so that the cut sides are down. Pour the water into the pan.Roast in the preheated oven, uncovered, for 40 to 45 minutes, checking periodically to make sure that the squash has not started to burn. You do want the water to evaporate, however. Add a bit more water if your squash is getting too dark.Remove from the oven and allow to cool until you can handle it safely. Scoop out the flesh with a spoon into a bowl or casserole.Serve as is, or mash completely with a fork. You can add a knob of butter if you wish, but I think it tastes pretty good just the way it is.The squash is done when it can be pierced easily with the tip of a sharp knife.

Seriously all you will have to throw away is a very thin piece of skin. There is literally no waste here. I didn't add anything to the squash at all and it was delicious!
Why wash the squash you ask? Well, I always wash my vegetables even if I am not going to be eating the skin, and especially if I am going to be cutting it in half like this.
If there is any germs on the outside like manure etc. cutting it without washing it means that you are going to slide the germs right down into the cut edges of the vegetable. Maybe I am being a bit pedantic, but hey ho. That's me!
Oven Roasted Butternut Squash

You could of course add a knob of butter if you are craving a bit more richness and a TBS of soft light brown sugar would also be nice, maybe a grating of nutmeg, but then, I am adding to the calories eh!
I want to keep the calories down so I can enjoy more of that rich gravy from the turkey, not to mention the stuffing and the mashed potatoes!
Oh, I do so love a Turkey dinner! Don't you? This needn't be reserved just for Thanksgiving, however. This would make a fabulous side dish anytime!
Oven Roasted Butternut Squash

Some other tasty squash recipes you might enjoy are:
MASHED POTATO SQUASH - This one is cooked in the microwave and is delicious. Mashed potato squash is a dry fleshed squash with a nice mild flavor.
MAPLE & BUTTER BAKED SQUASH - One of the most delicious ways to bake those tiny squashes. Simply cut in half, deseed and then apply some seasoning, butter and maple syrup. Easy and oh so tasty!