Roasted Butternut Squash with Apples and Onions

If you are keeping track of what produce I am getting in my box, the Butternut Squash was a huge part of it.

I saw several shows which featured Butternut squash being roasted with vegetables, usually apples and onions and I did a query. I came up with this recipe (click the title below).

It seemed easy and I had all the ingredients.

Roasted Butternut Squash with Apples and Onions

Ingredients

1 large onion
2 Fuji, Honeycrisp, or Jonagold apples
20 ounces pre-cut butternut squash (about 4–5 cups of 1-inch cubes)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Kosher salt to taste
20 grindings of black pepper or to taste
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup dried cranberries
¼ cup toasted almond slivers or sunflower seeds (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Cut the onion in half, and then slice each piece crosswise into ½-inch strips. Place on a large rimmed baking sheet covered with parchment paper or foil (dull side up). Set aside.

Using an apple corer/slicer, cut the apples into eighths, and then cut each wedge into 3 or 4 chunks. Add to the onions along with the squash cubes. Add the oil, thyme, vinegar, salt, and pepper to the baking sheet and toss well.

Spread out in a single layer, and bake for 30 minutes or until the onions are golden and the squash is tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from the oven. Sprinkle with the cinnamon, dried cranberries, and nuts (if using). Toss lightly and place in a serving dish.

My comments on this recipe, are as follows:

I used half shallots and half onions.
I used fresh cranberries, instead of dried.
I used pecans, instead of almonds or sunflower seeds.
I added a little brown sugar, when I added the pecans and cinnamon. I let the ingredients cook another 15 minutes after the addition of the last ingredients. The recipe does not show that.

Otherwise, it was prepared as directed. My family chimed in after the meal and said some of the ingredients were slightly overdone. The reason why, was that the squash took 2 hours to cook. Maybe it was because it was so large? I have no idea. So next time, I intend to precook the squash in the microwave, to get it close to soft. Then, maybe the whole thing will be done in 30 minutes, or so.

Otherwise, it was excellent and my family loved it!