Roasted Butternut Squash with Harissa

As you may already know, I love it when my food is a little bit spicy (not always and not too spicy) but a hint of spice always makes a dish feel more interesting and elevated. This week we decided to experiment with Harissa - a North African hot chilly paste whose main ingredients are roasted red peppers. We had used the paste previously with some dishes but never with butternut squash and found this combination amazing.

This roasted butternut squash dish is super simple to prepare, just whisk together the ingredients, prepare your butternut squash place it in the oven and you’re already almost done! It’s perfect for a cozy evening at home and it’s also extremely healthy.

For a vegan option you can opt out of the feta or add a vegan cheese of your choice.

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Cook Time: 70 Minutes

Ingredients for 3/4:

• Butternut Squash - 1

• Feta - 100 g

• White Onion - 1

• Harissa Paste - 2 Tbs (buy here)

• Garlic - 1 clove

• Canned Cherry Tomatoes - 250 g (similar to these)

• Liquid Honey - 2 Tbs

• Thyme .- a bunch

• Dill - a bunch

• Smoked Paprika - 1 Tbs

• Olive Oil

• Salt & Pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Pre-heat the oven at 200°C - fan mode.

2. Start by preparing your butternut squash. Peel it and cut it in half (lengthways) and remove the seeds. After you have done this make cuts in your butternut squash (as pictured above). You should not cut the butternut squash fully to the end (leave 1 cm in the end so that it doesn’t fall apart. It should still all stick together). Don’t worry if you cut a piece off fully - it’s not the end of the world :)

3. Take the baking tray you will be using and add the canned cherry tomatoes, harissa paste, crushed or finely chopped garlic, and 3 Tbs of olive oil. Mix well and add the sliced onion as well.

4. Now is the time to take your two butternut squash halves and add them to the baking tray one next to the other. Make sure you really press them into the sauce.

5. Cover the baking tray with foil and cook for 30 minutes.

6. Once the 30 min are done remove the foil, add the thyme, drizzle the honey over the butternut squash and sprinkle the paprika as well.

7. Cook for another 40 minutes. When the 40 min are done make sure you check with a fork that the butternut squash is fully cooked (it should break easily).

8. Remove from the oven, add the feta and dill on top and serve :)