Spiced Nutty Butternut Squash
Butternut squash is in the Cucurbita moschata family. Acorn, buttercup, carnival, delicata, hubbard, spaghetti, and pumpkin are also in the family. They are called winter squash because, planted in summer and harvested in autumn, they are available throughout the winter months.
It generally grows abundantly here in the Mid-Atlantic, a good thing made better with good recipes.
There are zillions of recipes for soup, casseroles, or ravioli. But I wanted something different. But before I get to that, a nutritional overview.
Nutrition Notes
Butternut squash is a good source for vitamin C, potassium, and fiber which makes it a food that fills you up, resists bad cholesterol, and makes your heart happy. Vitamin C helps your body make better use of iron, ending constipation woes so common to anemics, and boosts your immune system.
Vitamin A benefits eye (retinal) health, skin, teeth, and bone says MedlinePlus, the encyclopedia of the National Library of Medicine, NIH. Butternut squash is a good source of beta-carotene and other antioxidants important for reducing inflammation.
Other nutrient highs:
Potassium, an essential mineral important for a whole host of things including regulating heart rhythm, electrolyte balance, and
Magnesium, another essential mineral important for bone health, heart health, and superior muscle relaxant
Folate, a vitamin important for maternal and fetal health, assists mental function, and is a mood booster
Vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant that benefits arteries and eyes, insulin
Calcium not only plays a key role in bone health, it also plays a role in how the body stores fat, assists blood pressure management, and is a relaxant
Manganese, a little known mineral, is said to reduce PMS symptoms
Soluble fiber , important for gut health.
Alone, this vegetable can provide a lot of good stuff. Combined with other nutritious foods, even better. Nuts, I thought. Great protein, great fat, other good stuff. What if I combined nuts with butternut squash to make a twice-baked squash with nuts?
Because I disliked the photo the first time I did this, I was happy to have another go at the recipe, making a few updates along the way.
Nuts and Seeds
The addition of sunflower seeds, cashews, and chestnuts added texture and nutrients.
Almonds are so ridiculously healthy; they’re high in vitamin E, calcium, magnesium, potassium, protein, fiber, and monounsaturated fat.
Cashews are a good source of protein, fiber, copper, zinc, magnesium, antioxidants, and monounsaturated fatty acids. Technically a seed, it is heart, brain, and gut-friendly.
Chestnuts have a long history of nourishing the body human. Dried and ground, it has served as flour in areas where grain doesn’t grow well. It is high in calcium, potassium, protein, and vitamin C.
Hazelnut is also rich in copper. Other nutrients – folate (vitamin B12), fiber, manganese, and proanthocyanidins – make this nut a smart choice for heart and bone health. Although I didn’t get to include these in this second iteration, I thought I’d promote them just the same since they’re woefully underappreciated.
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash, roasted until tender
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds
- 1/4 cup cashews
- 1/3 c chestnuts (or nut blend of your choice)
- 1 T maple syrup
- 1 t coconut oil
- 2 t powdered cardamom
- 2 t powdered ginger
- 2 t powdered cinnamon
- 1 egg
- 2 T water
- Pinch of sea salt
- Using the SparkPeople Recipe Nutrition Calculator, one serving yields 129 calories, 6.3 grams of total fat, 348 mg potassium, 23 grams of cholesterol, 17 grams of total carbohydrates, 3.9 grams of fiber, and 3.7 grams of protein. It’s high in Vitamins A, B6, and C; copper, iron, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, and thiamine.
Being nearly impossible to cut raw, I first roasted the squash in the oven until it was soft enough to manage.
When cool enough to handle, I cut the squash lengthwise and removed the flesh, leaving enough around the sides so the skin didn’t fall apart.
The squash cubes joined the nuts, eggs, and spices in the Vita-Mix for a coarse chop. It did occur to me that, with the addition of more liquid, time, and speed, I could easily make a nutty butternut soup. If you haven’t tried a squash soup – what on earth are you waiting for?? But I digress…
The nut-squash mixture was spooned into the shells.
Into the oven at about 350 for 50 minutes.
This version was definitely more texture-rich; the nuts and the squash held their form thanks to the minimal time spent in the Vita-Mix.
The chestnuts added a mild flavor (definitely a nut worth exploring beyond the roasting on an open fire thing). All of the ingredients are mild, so it was interesting to keep them from drowning out the others. For me, this is a great breakfast bowl.
This second iteration of Nutty Butternut Squash succeeded in holding its shape and allowed me to experiment with chestnuts. Like the first version of the recipe, I could be a little more generous with the cardamom, cinnamon, and ginger. But, it worked; well enough that I posted it to SparkRecipes to see what others will make of it.