Spicy Chickpeas & Roasted Butternut Squash
Bar-B-Q or winter warmer. This is the tastiest veggie recipe I’ve cooked in a long time. I stumbled across this one in a food magazine and since I had a Butternut Squash standing by, I jumped at the chance to make it. It is very simple and easy. The only difficult bit is peeling the squash. For those of you unfamiliar to the Butternut, all I can say is, it is a cross between pumpkin and sweet potato. Very nutritious and delicious. This is one of those recipes I love because you can add whatever takes your fancy or whatever spices you have in the drawer. Most of the measurements are by eye but I will give you the measurements I used for a large squash. Mine was about 10 inches high and about 6 inches diameter at the base. I served mine with roast chicken from the BBQ and fresh kale picked from our garden. A perfect winter dish for our cold summer!!
Here we go: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon
Butternut Squash 1 large , deseeded and peeled
Shallots 3 or 4 or medium onion will do just fine (don’t over-do the onion)
Olive Oil 3-4T
S & P
Tinned Chickpeas (canned) 1 x 400g (12 oz.) drained or 240g (8oz.)cooked chickpeas
Spices for Chickpeas:
Cumin ground 1 t.
Coriander ground 1t.
Garlic 1 fat clove
Rosemary ground 1t. (the Rosemary flavour was strongish so if you don’t like it choose another like Thyme or Marjoram)
Paprika 1t. I used smoked but regular was in the original recipe.
Caraway was also added to this list but I didn’t have any and it is an acquired taste. You can also add Cayenne or other; substitute your favs.
Method easy:
Cut peeled squash into manageable sizes. One or two bites big only.
Put into roasting tin
Throw shallots in whole or rough chop if using onion
Season with S & P and toss them in Olive Oil
Roast at about 200C/400F in fan oven for about 40 mins. or long enough for the edges to caramelise (brown and sweet) this is vital to the finished dish.
Now for the Chickpeas:
Pour Olive Oil in the frying pan
Add the spices and herbs to the oil and
Fry until the flavour mixes. Only about 10 seconds, be careful as they burn quickly,
Stir in the Chickpeas until warmed through.
Serve on top of the squash and add a little chopped parsley. A great side dish to any kind of roast meat or chicken and a delicious main course for a vegetarian meal.