Honorary Dish of the Day: Maple & Lemon-Glazed Roasted Butternut Squash

Honorary Dish of the Day: Serving up this delightful and irresistible Maple & Lemon-Glazed Roasted Butternut Squash as our second butternut squash recipe highlight and honorary dish of the day today! I am a huge fan of roasted vegetables...there is no doubt whatsoever that the roasting process effectively enhances their natural sweetness and flavor, thus making them irresistibly delicious and abundantly flavorful. This is even more so the case when it comes to starchy vegetables such as the beautiful and ever-versatile butternut squash.

For this recipe, I first preheated my oven to 400℉ before peeling and cutting a small, whole butternut squash into medium-sized chunks as shown above. I then spread out the chopped pieces as evenly as possible in a small sheet pan as shown below and seasoned them with about 1 teaspoon each of ground black pepper and smoked paprika as well as some salt to taste. To create the glaze, I mixed about 1/4 cup of maple syrup with juice from half of a small lemon in a small bowl. I then added about 1/4 teaspoon of dried rosemary flakes and some grated lemon zest as well to enhance the lemon flavor. If you love very strong lemon flavor, I suggest cutting thin, round slices of lemon and placing them on top of the squash to further infuse the aroma during the roasting process. I also strongly recommend using high grade, dark-colored maple syrup in order to obtain a truly deep maple flavor. After whisking all the ingredients thoroughly to blend well using a fork, I drizzled the maple-lemon glaze generously over the squash and tossed them to ensure even coating and distribution. Finally, I roasted them at 400℉ for 35 - 40 minutes and once done, I served them hot as a delicious dinner side dish. This simple, no frills vegan/vegetarian dish is not only easy to prepare but also comes packed with unbeatable flavor and a host of beneficial nutrients...I hope you give it a try sometime. Enjoy and have a restful weekend 😍💖