Quinoa with Roasted Butternut Squash

Serves 8-10

Ingredients: 

2 to 3 pounds butternut squash  (peeled, seeded, and cubed).*
Olive oil spray 
2 cups quinoa, rinsed 
3 cups vegetable broth or water
1 to 1½ cups Medjool dates  (pitted and chopped)
3 Tbs. fresh sage (chopped)
Salt and pepper to taste
High-quality olive oil

 *Frozen squash will not work in this recipe. If you  purchase pre-prepped squash you will probably need about 1½ pounds.  

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Directions:

Place butternut squash on sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Spray with olive oil  and season with salt and pepper. Roast squash until fork tender. Depending on the  size of the pieces of squash you have this should take 30 to 40 minutes. 

Place quinoa in a large dry skillet. Roast over medium heat until fragrant, 5 to 10  minutes. Stir frequently. Add vegetable broth or water to quinoa in skillet. Season to  taste with salt and pepper. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until  liquid is absorbed, about 25 minutes. Stir frequently.  

Remove quinoa from heat and set aside, still covered. Steam will complete cooking. Allow quinoa to cool slightly. Toss in roasted squash, dates, and sage leaves. Taste  and adjust seasonings. (Fresh sage can be expensive. Try subbing some poultry  seasoning instead if this is a concern.) 

Toss quinoa mix gently with a little bit of high-quality olive oil. Serve slightly warm or room temperature.

Additional Notes:

We added 8 ounces sautéed sliced mushrooms, 3 or 4 sliced green onions, and 2  cups baby spinach. Add the spinach while the quinoa is still warm so greens will wilt  a little. Roast pumpkin seeds and serve on the side to add some nice crunchy  texture to this dish. 

If you or your friends or family do not like dates, try substituting chopped dried apricots or apples, or golden raisins. Whatever dried fruit you use, start with ¾ to 1  cup and add to suit your taste. If you don’t like the dried fruit at all, substitute some shredded carrots. Add carrot to warm quinoa to cook slightly.

Tandoori Peppers

Yields 4 whole peppers or 8 half peppers.

Ingredients:
4 large sweet peppers, red, yellow, or orange (green peppers won’t work)
2 Tbs. fresh lemon or lime juice
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, chopped or put through press
1⁄2 inch piece fresh ginger root
1⁄4 tsp. salt

Directions:

If serving whole peppers, carefully cut the cap end off and set aside. Clean the seeds  and veins out of the peppers and set caps and peppers aside. If serving half peppers,  cut the peppers into “boats” by slicing vertically from top to bottom and proceed as  directed. *We prefer the half peppers.  

Prepare marinade by placing juice, oil, garlic, ginger root, and salt in a food processor;  whirl until mixture is smooth. Brush insides of peppers with marinade and set aside while you prepare the filling. 

Filling:

2 Tbs. oil  
½ tsp. cumin seeds
½ tsp. ground turmeric  
1 large fresh ripe tomato, finely  chopped, drain off extra liquid 
2 Tbs. golden raisins  
¼ to ½ cup hummus 
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper (or more to taste)  
1 medium onion (finely chopped) 
1 clove garlic (minced or pressed) 
1 large potato (about 1¼ cups) peeled  and cut into ¼” cubes* 
Salt and sugar to taste  
Carrot hummus
Optional: ¼ cup cilantro (chopped)  

*We like to substitute this with sweet potato 

Directions:
Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat and add the cumin seeds, turmeric,  onion, garlic, and cayenne pepper. Sauté just until the onion is beginning to brown,  about 5 minutes.  

Add the potato, cabbage, tomato, and raisins and cook for 2 minutes then reduce the  heat to low. Cover and cook the vegetable mixture until the potatoes and cabbage are  just soft, stirring occasionally, about 10 or 15 minutes. After 10 minutes, if vegetable  mixture is wet, uncover and cook off some of the liquid. Stir in the cilantro, if using, and  cook an additional minute. 

Stir in the hummus and remove from heat. Stir in any leftover marinade, taste, and adjust seasonings. Add additional salt, pepper, or a little sugar if mixture has any bitterness.  Spoon the filling into the peppers.

If cooking peppers whole, put caps in place, anchoring them with toothpicks if necessary. Either grill the peppers for 20 to 30 minutes, until soft and glossy or bake at 350°F in a foil-lined pan for about 30 to 40 minutes. If grilling half peppers, cover partway through with foil if the filling starts to dry out. 

 We enjoy this recipe with Lantana Sriracha.

Additional notes:  

These are worth the time and getting stained by the turmeric. They are good both ways  but are terrific grilled. Leave them on the grill long enough to let the skin char just a little.  Serve hot.  

The little sweet peppers that have recently appeared in markets make good appetizers when stuffed and heated through. Just cut off and discard the caps – no need to try to seed these. Proceed as directed but watch these as they cook quickly.  

I have had good luck using well-drained canned diced tomato when good fresh tomatoes are not available.