Pan Roasted Butternut Squash and Baby Spinach
Pan roasted butternut squash with baby spinach - perk it up some cayenne pepper & a dash of aromatic garam masala.
Equipment
- Cuisinart Chef's Classic Nonstick Hard-Anodized 12-½-Inch Stir Fry with Helper Handle and Cover
Ingredients
- 1 about 1.5- 2 lb Medium-sized Butternut Squash
- 1 tbsp Oil plus extra if required
- ½ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper adjust to taste
- 3 cups Baby spinach loosely packed, roughly chopped
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala adjust to taste
- Salt to taste
- Lemon juice optional
Required equipment
- Large Skillet and spatula
- Measuring cups and spoons optional if you can eyeball the measurements
Instructions
Preparation
- Wash and peel the butternut squash. Dice into ½ inch pieces. Try to keep the sizes more or less uniform to guarantee uniform cooking.
- Wash and roughly chop baby spinach.
- Keep your spices ready.
Cooking
- Heat oil in the skillet over medium high heat.
- Add the diced squash pieces to the oil and toss around to coat all the pieces with oil. Try to keep the squash pieces in a single layer in the skillet.
- Cook on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Stir a couple of times to ensure uniform heating.
- Add Cayenne pepper and salt and mix well.
- Reduce the heat to medium and cook for another 10-15 minutes or till the squash pieces are cooked and are tender(if required, drizzle a little oil).The pieces will also have caramelized and will have browned on the outside.
- Toss in the chopped spinach and mix well. The heat will wilt the spinach.
- Now it is time to add the garam masala and mix well. Adjust the seasonings to suit your taste and remove from heat.
- Sprinkle with lemon juice if you like a little tangy taste.
- Serve hot.
Notes
1. Uniformly diced squash pieces will ensure uniform cooking and even browning. [br]2. Instead of Cayenne pepper, you can use paprika for milder spice level or any Indian Red Chili powder.[br]3. Make sure the heat is not too high to brown the squash pieces without cooking them from inside. [br]4. I like it with a slightly tangy flavor, so I drizzle a little lemon juice while serving.