A Plate Full

And we’re back.  Long overdue, with not an absence note in hand, nor a good excuse to be found. Sorry about that. I’m starting out easy, getting back into the rhythm, getting the mojo back. I’ve missed all of you. This is my go to recipe for veggies in the winter. You can make this without thinking about a recipe. The chopping and mixing is soothing, and I find that by the time I pop the tray into the oven, I’ve relaxed, my mind has relaxed and I’m ready to jump into the fray.

You know my fondness for roasted vegetables.  Okay, fondness might be misleading, obsession is closer to the truth.  Now that the cooler temps have arrived this obsessive compulsion has kicked into overdrive.  The morning checklist often starts with coffee….check, feed the cat……check, turn on the oven……check.  Wait, what am I cooking? Oh, right, nothing yet, haven’t made it to the store to buy the next cache of veggies.  Turn off the oven…..check.  There are very few things left in the veggie aisle of the local market that haven’t made their way into my oven.  Well, artichokes haven’t, and radish.  (I did have braised radish this summer, what a revelation!) But every manner of squash, bean, and root have.  Along with fruit.  All kinds of fruit.  Apples of course, and I’m currently in love with roasted citrus.  But this is about roasted butternut, apples and onions.

You’d be hard pressed to find a more versatile combination.  I’ve eaten a plateful just for dinner.  I’ve mixed them into a creamy orzo for a fabulous comfort food dish.  I use it as a side for roast pork. I’ve also stirred it into a cream sauce with any other veggies for the best chicken pot pie ever to appear in my kitchen. Oh, and it’s actually good cold, for a quick bite, before you rush out the door into the shopping madness.  Make a big tray of this. The prep time is small, the reward huge. It will hang out in your refrigerator for a week, just fine.  You won’t be sorry.

You’ll need:

1 medium sized Butter nut squash. (About 4 cups, peeled and diced)
4 Apples, peeled, cored, and sliced into wedges
1 onion, peeled and sliced into wedges
2 Tbls. of olive oil
1 tsp. of salt
1/2 tsp of pepper

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

On a large baking sheet, mix squash, apples and onions together. Drizzle olive oil, sprinkle salt and pepper, and mix with clean hands until all are coated with oil and salt and pepper. Place in center of oven and roast for 30 minutes. Check for doneness, the apples should be soft but holding their shape, the squash should be browned and tender and the onions translucent and starting to caramelize. Increase time as needed, checking at 5 to 10 minute intervals. I used a large baking sheet and it took almost 50 minutes. Try not to crowd pieces.

Here are your variables: As always, depending on your oven, time may need to be increased. I find that if the apples are not very juicy you might want to give them a light coat of oil before you mix with the rest of the ingredients and oil. Salt and pepper is to your taste. Of course, add herbs as you like, I like to add the herbs as I use them in different dishes. Taste and reseason as needed.