This was originally made alongside last week’s post, which is here.

These two veggies have always seemed odd to me. They just don’t look sweet at all. Picking up a bunch of beets, my initial response (as an adult) is ‘Oh, veggies. I need to eat more of them.’ When I look at a butternut squash my arm starts to ache a little. But it’s good for you, right?

The goal here was to make these two into a sweet side dish. I’ve had butternut squash as a soup, ravioli, and other novel ways. However, it always turned out super sweet. Kinda like 1/2 cup of sugar was dumped on top. This recipe does use a sweetener, in the form of maple syrup, but there’s not much of it. The beets also have a mild sweet flavor that prevents the dish from turning into candy.

Here’s how I tackled the Butternut Squash:

Use your heaviest chef’s knife for this one, the weight of the blade will help cut through the firm flesh of the squash. Slice the top off and split the squash lengthwise. Scrap out the seeds (reserve them for eating if you like). Cut off the bottom ends of both halves and peel off the rind with a vegetable peeler. It should now be easy to dice the squash.

Ingredients

• 1 Butternut Squash
• 3 medium Beets
• 1/4 cup Olive Oil
• 2 tsp ground Cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 tbsp Maple Syrup

Method

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Dice the Squash and Beets to 1/2″ cubes. You really need to keep everything uniform so that it all cooks at the same time. Place the cut squash and beets in a large mixing bowl and add Oil, Cinnamon, Salt, and Syrup. Toss to coat.

Lay out on a baking sheet. Roast for 40 – 50 minutes. Take them out and stir it up halfway through the cook time. Once done roasting, place under the broiler for 3-5 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.

Enjoy!