Oliver’s Roasted Butternut Curry

Several of my friends and I have this game we sometimes play called “What should I make for dinner?”

Actually, it’s less of a game and more of a desperate plea for help, but regardless. Today I found myself coming to my friend Oliver with that question when I discovered that I was out of the ingredients I wanted to use to make soup, and was otherwise at a loss as to what to do with a butternut squash. “Why don’t you roast it with some potatos and make a coconut curry sauce with lots of cumin?” was Oliver’s brilliant reply. In just over an hour I was ladelling up a bowl of a deliciously fragrant curry with tender juicy vegetables nestled up to creamy chunks of roasted squash. I was in heaven.

And so, Oliver, I name this recipe for you. I was going to call it Oliver’s Sexy Squash but I wasn’t sure if that would affect my blog’s family-friendly status 🙂

Oliver’s Roasted Butternut Curry

1 butternut squash
2 red skin potatos
Peanut oil
4 cloves garlic
1 thumb-size piece of ginger
1/4 cup onion
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 dash of turmeric
1 small can (160 ml) coconut milk
1 tsp curry powder
1/3 cup broccoli
1/3 cup mushrooms

Line a baking sheet with tinfoil and heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Drizzle some peanut oil onto the tinfoil.

Peel the butternut squash, cut it in half, and scoop out the seeds and guts. Discard them, or rinse and save the seeds for another use. Chop the squash into pieces about an inch or two square. Peel the potatos and chop those into pieces about the same size as the squash.

Place the squash and potatos on the baking sheet and stir gently, drizzling more peanut oil on top if necessary. Sprinkle liberally with salt and black pepper.

Put the pan in the oven and let the squash and potatos roast until tender and lightly browned. This will take about 45 minutes to an hour. Stir them every 15 – 20 minutes so as not to burn them.

While the squash and potatos are roasting, mince the garlic and ginger and put into a frying pan or wok with another drizzle of peanut oil. Slice the onion and add this to the pan as well. While the aromatics are heating up, start adding spices; mustard seeds, cumin seeds, turmeric. Fry gently until the aromatics are starting to soften and the seeds are starting to pop. Add the coconut milk and about 50 ml of water. Turn the heat up and add the broccoli, chopped, and the mushrooms (whole if small or halved if a little larger).

When the coconut milk starts to bubble, add the curry powder, a dash each of salt, pepper, and cumin powder, and cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally to keep from sticking. You can turn the heat down if it starts to thicken too quickly.

When the roasted vegetables are tender, remove them from the oven and add them to the curry. Cook the curry until the sauce has thickened and the broccoli is tender/firm.

Enjoy with rice or flatbread.