But never fear, I still have one of my favorite side dishes! I love it because it comes together in about 2 minutes (well, 2 minutes if you’re using pre-peeled, pre-seeded, pre-cubed butternut squash, which I do out of convenience and also because I have a weird skin allergy to the skins, guts, and seeds of many gourds), it cooks up while you’re making the rest of dinner, and then clean-up is a breeze because you just toss the aluminum foil. I’ve never been crazy about squash with things like sugar and cinnamon–I like mine savory. So for this recipe, I use 24 ounces of butternut squash, a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil, kosher salt, ground cumin, dried parsley, onion powder, garlic powder, and a couple of pinches of cayenne, which is enough to give it a nice, mild, pleasant heat, but isn’t burny in any way. If you like the burn, feel free to add a little more.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil and the spices.
Place the squash on the prepared baking sheet and then drizzle with the olive oil mixture. Use your hands to toss to combine. Spread the squash evenly on the baking sheet
and bake until desired doneness is reached–if you like it tender and squash-y, 25-30 minutes should do it. If you prefer a deeper flavor and a some pieces with crispier, edges, bake for 35-40 minutes, tossing with a spatula about halfway through. Serve immediately. For 6 servings, this clocks in at…wait for it…65 calories and about 2.5 grams of fat and is 1 Weight Watchers Point. Woo-freaking-hoo! 🙂
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