squtter-nut-bosh

Hello hello!

I come to you with a non-traditional fall recipe, much like the word squtter-nut-bosh itself! This word is, as you may guess, a joke from the Friends Season 5 Thanksgiving episode, and this recipe is featured in the latest episode of Friends with Food, the podcast I cohost with Heather Kellogg Baumann! I prefer a spicy and acidic preparation with sweeter vegetables like squash, so I pulled inspiration from my favorite Indian recipe for this spice profile! The spices balance the sweetness of the squash and the lime juice brings it all to life with a bit of brightness! I hope this finds its way onto your fall table, whether for Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving, or just a nice fall meal. Take care my friends!

squtter-nut-bosh

⅓ cup olive oil

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp kosher salt

Fresh ground pepper

Small butternut squash, about 2lbs

Juice from half a lime

Optional: flakey salt

Preheat the oven to 375F.

In a jar or small bowl, combine the olive oil with the spices, salt and pepper. Give it a good stir.

Peel the butternut squash and carefully cut in half lengthwise. Squash can be quite hard and your knife can easily slip so watch your fingers! Scoop out the squash guts with a spoon and discard. Place half of the squash cut-side down on a cutting board. Trim the ends and discard, then slice the rest crosswise into ¼ inch slices. Repeat with the other half.

Ok, for the next part you have a few options. You’re going to coat the slices in the spiced oil and then line them up in a pan. You can either dump all the slices into a large bowl, pour in the oil, toss to mix, and then shove your slices into a pan in rows. Alternately, you can carefully coat a handful of slices in the spiced oil at a time, keeping them in order, and wind up with neater rows in the shape of your squash. Either way works great so just do what feels easiest for you! If you have a bread pan, this should be the perfect size to snuggle all your squash slices into in little rows, cut side up (see photo). If you don’t have a bread pan, a square pan or pie pan can work as well. If there is extra space you can stuff some foil in it to keep the squash rows from falling over. You can also use a sheet pan: in this case lay down a double layer of aluminum foil, nestle your rows of squash slices in the middle, and fold the foil up around the sides to keep everything all bundled up.

Once you have your squash situated, put it in the preheated oven. Bake for 1hr to 1½ hrs, or until squash is completely tender when tested with a fork. When squash is done, remove the pan from the oven. Squeeze half a lime over the squash, and top with flakey salt and a few fresh grinds of pepper, if desired. Serve immediately.