I made this dish for our 2020 Thanksgiving dinner and everyone voted it their favorite part of our meal… that’s sayin something! My mother is an excellent cook (thanks for showin’ me the way, mama!) so I felt proud and stoked to step it up and bring something new and exciting to the table (literally).
This dish is sweet but also savory and full of nutrients. Make sure to buy high quality bacon, preferably something pasture raised from a local farmer. I like using only natural sweeteners (like maple syrup) in my cooking, and the maple flavor really adds something spectacular to this dish. I also love how the spicy arugula contrasts the sweetness and brings in extra nutrients (without feeling heavy— we get enough of that on Thanksgiving!), but you can use your other favorite greens, like spinach, in place of it if you want.
Try making this dish for your next family or friend gathering and see how stoked people get! The only downside is there probably won’t be any leftovers. :)
Ingredients:
-1 large butternut squash (2-3 lbs)
-1 pack of bacon (approx. 1 lb or 10 slices)
-1/2 C pine nuts
-2 big handfuls of arugula (or another green)
-1/2 C maple syrup
-2 tsp cinnamon
-salt and pepper
Directions:
-Preheat oven to 425.
-Cook bacon on stovetop (I like using a cast iron skillet at medium heat) until bacon is about 2/3 of the way cooked. Remove bacon strips and set aside.
-While bacon is cooking, peel squash and cut into cubes with large knife (see below for tips—it’s easy!). Shoot for around 6 C cubed squash.
-Transfer squash cubes to a baking dish and use a few spoonfuls of bacon grease to coat squash. Add salt and pepper and mix it up.
-Roast the squash for 25 mins.
-Meanwhile, pour out remaining bacon grease and use the same pan to lightly toast pine nuts. Toast on medium heat for about 8 minutes (until golden brown in color). Note— many people recommend dry roasting nuts to keep them crispier after they cool, so you may like to do this in a separate pan without bacon grease residue, but I say just use the same pan for less dishes! The crispiness doesn’t matter much in this dish anyway since it’s all getting mixed together. And a little extra bacon flavor never hurts!
-Cut bacon into small pieces or crumble.
-Whisk together maple syrup and cinnamon in a small bowl.
-Remove squash from oven and add in crumbled bacon. Pour maple syrup mixture over and lightly mix throughout.
-Return dish to oven for another 10 minutes (we want to “candy” the bacon but not burn it!).
-Remove dish from oven and gently stir in pine nuts and greens. The squash will be quite hot so stirring in greens at the end will make them wilt but not be super soggy or burnt. Enjoy!
Pro Tips:
-I know handling winter squash can be intimidating at times because they’re so hard and dense, but it’s easy once you get the hang of it! I recommend first cutting off the top (stem side) and bottom. Then use a standard peeler (like a carrot peeler) to easily remove skin. Start slicing in 3/4 inch strips moving down the squash. Remove any seeds or loosey goosey insides from slices. Then just finish by cutting your slices into cubes! You can also buy pre-cubed squash from places like Trader Joes or Whole Foods if you’re in a time crunch on cooking day, but I swear handling the full squash isn’t that hard and practice makes perfect. :)
-Want to make this dish ahead of time? —Holla at my food prep queens!!— Roast squash for 25 mins, cook bacon, toast pine nuts, and whisk maple syrup in advance. Store in separate glassware containers. When it’s go time, simply combine ingredients in oven dish and roast for 10 minutes (I would include nuts so they warm up). Stir in your greens after and serve!
If you make this dish, please share below and tell us all how you enjoyed it!