It’s good to be home.
Sketchie agrees, after a fun (but tiring) visit with his two furry cat friends. Luckily, grandpa put up with his antics yet again. I won’t go into the multiple accidents he had, but I’ll just tell you that I have an amazing, patient, and kind father-in-law. He deserves many of his favourite baked goods when we visit over Thanksgiving in a couple weeks. And possibly a 6-week spa getaway.
After a few rants and raves once home, Sketchie finally settled into his old digs, but unfortunately didn’t get the memo that we’re still on Pacific time. I have no idea how much coffee I consumed this weekend, but let’s just say my old friend, Bodum, is back to stay!
Back in Ontario, it’s clear that summer has come to an end. Trees are starting to change colour and my robe and slippers have appeared for the first time in months. I was so acclimatized to the amazing heat we had in B.C., I temporarily forgot all about this fall stuff. With bronzed skin for the first time all summer, I came home only to cover it up with sweaters and pants. The summer clothes are in a rejected, useless heap in front of the washing machine.
Since the weather was fitting, I consoled myself with grocery shopping and a healthy dose of fall produce. It’s good to be back in the kitchen, if anything!
This weekend was all about squash…and cookies…and coffee beans. Actually, cookies were the first thing I made, not that that should come as a surprise to anyone. You’d think I’d be aiming for healthier fare after vacation, but I had one thing on my mind: recreating the amazing cookie as big as my head. That recipe will be coming soon, but since it’s Monday and we’re probably trying to eat a bit healthier, I have a vegetable recipe for you today. Don’t worry though, I don’t do boring vegetables.
This recipe is inspired by the roasted butternut squash recipe I made back in 2009. It’s incredibly simple to make using only about 15-20 minutes of prep while the oven does the rest. This time, I made an almond pecan parmesan “cheese” and added Lacinato kale for green power. The result is a comforting fall side dish that will warm you to the bone.
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Roasted Butternut Squash with Almond-Pecan Parmesan
Yield
4 side servings
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
This comforting and nutritious side dish will warm you to the bone! The Almond-Pecan Parmesan lends a crunchy contrast to the buttery and lightly sweet squash. Finely chopped kale provides a boost of green power. Trust me when I say that it's so good you'll want to enjoy this dish as a main course.
Ingredients
For the roasted squash:
- 1 medium/large butternut squash (2 to 2 1/2 lbs.)
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup (37 g) stemmed and roughly chopped kale
For the Almond-Pecan Parmesan:
- 1/4 cup (40 g) whole almonds
- 1/4 cup (27 g) pecan halves
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) nutritional yeast
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C) and lightly grease a large casserole dish with oil.
- Peel the squash. Thinly slice off the bottom and top and then slice through the middle lengthwise to make two halves. Remove seeds with a spoon. Chop the two halves into 1-inch chunks and place into the casserole dish.
- Add the minced garlic, parsley, oil, and salt into casserole dish and toss until combined with the squash. Do not add the kale yet.
- Cover the casserole dish with tinfoil (with a few holes poked) and bake at 400°F (200°C) for about 45 minutes, until tender and lightly browned.
- Meanwhile, in a mini food processor, pulse the Almond-Pecan Parmesan ingredients together until coarsely chopped.
- After cooking, remove the squash from the oven and reduce the heat to 350°F (180°C). Remove the tinfoil. Stir in the chopped kale and sprinkle the Parmesan all over the squash. Bake for another 5 to 8 minutes, uncovered, until the nuts are lightly toasted. Watch closely so you don’t burn the nuts. Serve warm.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Status: Warm with a happy belly.
I made this last night… Very easy and delicious! It was perfect. Thanks for posting this!
I also used all pecans, but substituted almond oil for the olive. Worked great.
I made this tonight. My roommate generally hates greens and was highly skeptical but ended up really loving it. That nut/cheese topping is amazing. I didn’t have any nutritional yeast so I used vegan parm. It’s definitely a keeper and so easy to make.
I made this for Thanksgiving today and it was AMAZING!! So much flavor, thank goodness I have double the ingredients because I need to make it again :)
OMG! Just made this last night and it is Amazing! It will become a regular at my house. My son stopped by and made himself a small bowl and liked it so much he took the serving spoon and started eating right out of the casserole dish! I doubled the garlic, cause we love garlic, but other than that didn’t change a thing. Delicious! Thanks so much for sharing.
will it taste the same without the yeast?
This recipe is amazingly delicious! Perfect winter dish with great texture, a little crunch, just enough sweetness….I had to stop myself from going back to have 3rds! Thank you so much!
Love ts dish…it’s a favourite of both myself and my husband.
This looks awesome – thanks for posting :)
Is there something I can substitute for the yeast? This sounds delish but I don’t want to have to make a trip to a special store.
This looks delicious and your photos are lovely.
Thanks for sharing,
Kelly
i made this last night…. the kale dried out and was delicously crispy… i didnt use the nutritional yeast and i used coconut oil instead of olive oil which gave it a sweet flavour… very tasty i will make this again
Pinned it, made it, loved it! I took the suggestion of another reviewer and drizzled a little maple syrup on top. Yummy!
I just made this dish probably for the 5th time. WE love it every single time. This time, I used really good quality olive oil in the ‘nut cheese’ and OMG! This has quickly become a family favourite.
This recipe is amazing! I replaced the oil in the topping with a Tbs. of tahini. It’s going to be a new staple at our house! Thank you!!
This dish was delicious ! Next time I’ll make a little bit more of the parmesan, it gives a really nice taste and adds a bit of crisp :):) Thank you for your delicious and healthy recipes !!
Oh so good. I’m going to make this as a side for thanksgiving!
I used crushed walnuts instead. I just threw them on top with some olive oil. Just as delicious.
I also used cilantro instead of parsley because that’s what I had. I think parsley would be better though :)
Thanks for the recipe!!
I don’t like squash as a rule, but I wanted to diversify my diet, so I decided to give it another go. This is awesome! I left out the nutritional yeast and I used blanched almond flour instead of grinding whole almonds. I’ll definitely be making this again! Thank you for sharing!!
I’m allergic to sesame!! I am also not a big fan of pecans… Would pine nuts or another nut/seed work in place of the pecans or sesame?
Hi Sarah, I would recommend almonds or cashews – hope this helps!
Hemp seeds might be a good substitute.
Lately I’ve been using a combo of roasted pepitas and hemp hearts…SO good!
I subbed swiss chard for the kale and did not have almonds so just used pecans. So tasty. Angela Liddon – you never let me down!