A magic combination of sweet and silky butternut squash and crunchy roast hazelnuts. This simple recipe involves tossing everything in a tray and roasting.
There’s something magical about the alchemy of sweet, silky butternut squash followed by a salty crunch that unleashes the burnt cocoa flavour of roasted hazelnuts. Sure, roasted butternut squash is nice. And roasted hazelnuts are very nice. But put the two together and the result is a dish vastly greater than the sum of its parts.
4
Roasted Butternut Squash & Hazelnuts
Ingredients
- 50g hazelnuts
- 1 garlic clove, peeled
- 2-3 large sprigs of rosemary, leaves only
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large butternut squash (800g-1kg net), peeled, deseeded and chopped into 2cm cubes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
- Roughly bash the hazelnuts until they break apart into halves or quarters – you can use a pestle and mortar to do this, or seal in a bag and bash with a rolling pin. Tip the hazelnuts into a large, metal roasting tray.
- Combine the garlic, rosemary and salt in a pestle and mortar and pound to a paste (if you do not have a pestle and mortar, then mince the garlic and finely chop the rosemary). Add the olive oil, and stir until fully blended. Scrape the mixture into the roasting tray.
- Add the butternut squash pieces to the tray, and toss until evenly coated in the oil mix. Arrange the butternut squash in a single layer, giving the pieces plenty of room to roast and caramelise. Use two trays if necessary.
- Transfer to the oven and cook for 45 minutes, or until the squash is browned and fork tender.
- Transfer to a serving dish and serve hot.
