Roast It Real Good

When there’s bacon fat in the dressing…you KNOW it’s gonna be good. I’m still lapping up summer, but fall football has got me roasting up this Autumn Quinoa Bowl with golden butternut squash, ruby red beets, toasted pecans, peppery arugula and you guessed it, BACON! I’ll admit that I’m not a huge fan of bacon (shocker!), but when I do fry it up, it’s gonna be WORTH IT! And there’s no skimping on this one – turkey bacon is cheating – when I splurge, I splurge on the good stuff. Pony up and get yourself some of that sweet bacon laden goodness below.

One thing that can be intimidating about trying new ingredients is not knowing how to 1.) prep it and 2.) cook it. Well it’s your lucky day, because I’m going to teach you both how to prep and how to roast butternut squash. We’re heading into fall (I know it’s August and I want to deny it, but it’s true) so I’m going to help you get ahead of the game so that when everyone else gets around to making their fall favorites, you can be the butternut squash know-it-all.

The odd bell shape of butternut squash can make it intimidating, but I’m here to share just how easy peasy it is to peel and chop this fall favorite.  You’ll need a few things to accomplish this surprisingly easy task: 1.) a peeler 2.) a sharp knife and 3.) a large spoon.

Here’s your step by step once you have your tools assembled:

1.) First, I cut off the top and bottom stem to create a smooth, flat surface on each end, as shown in the first picture of the squash.
2.) Next, I cut the butternut squash in half, making a horizontal slice at the top of the “bell” or rounded base.
3.) After that I peel the skin off with a vegetable peeler, drawing the peeler towards by body while hold the squash to be able to apply the appropriate pressure. The peel is technically edible, but more rigid than the “meat” in the center.

4.) Once both ends are peeled, scoop the “guts” of the rounded portion out with a large spoon. Again, the seeds are edible raw or roasted, so feel free to preserve.
5.) Finally, slice each end horizontally to create 1-inch high discs, then slice into 1-inch cubes. Not all the pieces will be perfect cubes, but that is totally okay! No need to trim and waste perfectly good butternut squash!

It may sound like a lot of steps, but as long as you have a sharp knife, it really isn’t that hard. AND you can multi-task and do the prep work while the pecans toast. Beets will get the same treatment – peeling and slicing into cubes. Alternatively, you can roast the beets in advance, which is my preferred method, to avoid the mess of peeling raw beets.

Here’s my secret for advance prepping the beets:

1.) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F then rinse the beets under cool water to remove any of the dirt. Loosely wrap each beet in tin foil.
2.) Place beets on a baking sheet (or don’t if you want to pick them up individually) and bake in the oven for 90 minutes. Yes, it’s a long time. In fact, plenty of time to paint your nails, apply a mask and plan out your life’s work. Just sayin’. Get sh*t done.
3.) Remove the beets from the oven once easily pierced with a fork. Allow to cool, then watch how easy it is to peel away the skins and slice. Keep in the fridge for 3-5 days. Magic.

Alternatively, you can peel and slice the beets raw, but let’s be honest, that’s messy. Beets are always messy, but the raw way is messier – doable, but messier. Your pick! At the end of the day, either way you make it, you’ll have a pan of gorgeous roasted vegetables (actually, butternut squash is technically a fruit, but who cares about technicalities when you it’s deliciously nutty and full of fiber, potassium and Vitamin A?).

Then we get to part you’ve all been waiting for…BACON! Legit bacon is a MUST for this recipe. I’ve made it with turkey bacon and you won’t have any of the fatty delicious drippings to serve as your dressing and well, it will be dry. There’s no way around it. Live a little. Eat some bacon. I am not a doctor, but pretty sure it won’t kill you.

Now you might be wondering what the F is going on in the pic below. And if you thought I might be grilling bacon, you would be correct. Why am I being such a weirdo and not letting the sweet waft of bacon fill every crevice of my home? Well, you see, we’re trying to sell our house and not everyone likes the smell of bacon. Seems they prefer fresh linens, so linens win and bacon is segregated to the grills. Surprise, surprise, it works just the same! Bacon is dang delish no matter how or where you make it (expect in the microwave, please don’t ever zap your bacon…an angel cries every time a slice a bacon is put in the death trap that is a microwave).

There you have it! Let’s dive into the final steps below!

Fall Quinoa Bowl
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:
-1 medium butternut squash
-4 beets
-1 package of bacon
-1 bag of arugula
-1 C of cooked quinoa
-1/2 C of pecan pieces
-1/2 sweet onion, small diced
-2 T of sherry wine
-salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions: 

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees Farenheit. Place aluminum foil over a baking sheet. Add the pecan pieces to the baking sheet and mix with a little vegetable oil and sea salt. Once coated, place the baking sheet in the oven for 7-10 minutes, or until the nuts are fragrant and toasted. Set aside in a small bowl.
Step 2: Increase the oven temperature to 400 degree Farenheit. Prep the butternut squash as noted in the above post, peeling and slicing into 1-inch cubes. Do the same with the beets, rinsing, peeling and slicing into 1-inch cubes. Place on the same baking sheet that was used for the nuts. Coat in vegetable oil and sea salt, placing in the oven for 40 minutes to roast, flipping halway through. Vegetables are done when easily pierced with a fork. Option to then put on the broiler on high to get a crispy outer coating on the vegetables. Place in a medium bowl.
Step 3: Crisp the bacon slices in a pan, making sure to reserve the drippings in a glass measuring cup. Once the bacon is crisped, place on a paper towel lined plate to cool. When cool, use a kitchen sheers to slice into 1-inch pieces atop the bowl with the roasted butternut squash and beets.
Step 4: Make the dressing by drizzling the reserved bacon drippings in the fry pan (about 1/4 C) and heating over medium on the stove top. Add the diced onions, cooking until carmelized and browned. Remove from heat and swirl with the sherry wine. Add to the bowl of roasted butternut squash, beets and bacon. Mix together with the arugula.
Step 5: Assemble the quinoa bowls by layering a few spoonfuls of quinoa on each of the serving plates. Top with the roasted vegetable, bacon and arugula mixture. Add the toasted pecans and enjoy!