Our children's babysitter, Rosalyn, is a fabulous cook. I have posted her recipes for Trinidadian roti and chick pea and potato curry on this site before. When she has us over to dinner, we fill ourselves up with all of her fantastic dishes, including this incredibly easy butternut squash.
This recipe has just four ingredients, and that's only if you count the olive oil and salt. The combination, however, is delicious. I think the secret is waiting to add the garlic with the squash so that it never browns. It just steams with the squash and when it all gets mashed together it retains much of that garlicky bite. Fabulous.
It makes a great winter or fall side dish. We often have it with roti as a main course, though. It is not supposed to be served with the split pea roti that I make, but I don't yet know how to make the bread that better complements it. Rosalyn showed me once, but I wrote it on a tiny scrap of paper as I followed her around the kitchen and now I can't make sense of it. One of these days, I will get the rest of the story and I promise to share it with you. Until then, serve this with the split pea roti or as a substitute for mashed potatoes.
Trinidadian Garlicky Butternut Squash Mash
Don't worry about getting the measurements exactly right for this recipe. Just use the measurements below as a guideline. If you have a large squash or if you love garlic, add a bit more.
Serves 6 as a side dish
10 minutes preparation time
20-30 minutes cooking time
1 medium butternut squash
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
Cut the top and bottom off the butternut squash. Stand it on its bottom end and slice lengthwise. Peel each half and scoop out the seeds. Cut the squash into approximately 1/2-inch cubes.
Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the squash, minced garlic, and salt and stir to coat with the oil. If the squash looks dry or fibrous, add a few splashes of water. Cover the pan and cook until the squash is soft, stirring occasionally. Check the pan after about 10 minutes and if the squash begins to brown or the squash sticks to the pan, add a(nother) splash of water. Depending on the size of your squash and the dice, it should take between 20 and 30 minutes for the squash to cook.
When the squash is soft, remove it from the heat and mash it with a potato masher. Serve with roti, flatbread, or as a side dish.
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