Roasted Squash with Apples and Shallots

I so love fall! Even when I do not feel good, something about the gentle golden sunshine makes me smile. Fall to me about fragrant spices and earth tones. It is about warm gentle flavors. Much like this roasted squash with apples and shallots. I will make an honest confession that this is a recipe in progress.  Well, it is fine as is, but sometimes you look at a recipe and know that you just want to do more. This said, it is a new kind of pairing. This combination is extremely versatile. I pureed it for pasta and everyone loved it. But today let us stick to the fine as is part of things.

Firstly, this is a great recipe to make in either the oven (think one well seasoned sheet pan) or the air fryer. The squash and shallots turn golden as do the shallots. The apples cook down to practically a nice thick saucy consistency. All of this makes it one good happy family.  To put this together, I toss this with some gentle spices – you can use either pumpkin pie spice or garam masala for this recipe, olive oil, a teeny bit of molasses, ginger and some cayenne pepper.

The sweet and flavorful result will delight you. Ok, I cannot speak for you, but it certainly made me very happy. The real element of surprise and delight for me is the way the apples mixes in so very nicely into the mix forming that perfect sweet and tangy sauce.

Despite it’s simplicity I think it is worth a few ground rules.

Do not be tempted to overdo the spices. The subtlety matters. It helps both the spice and scallions shine.
If you wish to add a little more complexity to the dish you can use either coconut oil or ghee instead of the olive oil.

I use butternut squash for this, but any kind of squash should work.
The flavors are best with a tart or semi tart apple, but, I will leave that up to you.

If you like this recipe and want more ideas, do join my Indian Instant Pot Facebook group and Legume Love Group. Of course Instant Indian is ready for order, joining its siblings The Bengali Five Spice Chronicles and Spices and Seasons.

PrintRoasted Squash with Apples and Shallots

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

A gorgeous seasonal side this that is perfect for anytime of the year.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or garam masala
1/2 teaspoon red cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 small butternut squash peeled and cut into cubes
3 medium shallots quartered
1 medium sized granny smith or other tart apple quartered
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds or pepitas
Chopped thyme or other herb to finish

Instructions

In a small bowl add the olive oil, ginger, pumpkin pie spice (or garam masala), red cayenne pepper and salt and mix well.
In a larger bowl toss the squash, shallots, and apples. Mix in the olive oil mixture.
If you are doing this in an air fryer place in the basket and roast at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, stirring to mix things up one in between.
Alternately, pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees. Spread the mixture on a greased sheet pan. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes until the squash is tender. If you want the squash to be turning golden, then you need to cook a little longer.
Sprinkle with the pumpkin seeds and herbs before serving.3.1http://www.spicechronicles.com/roasted-squash-with-apples-and-shallots/

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