Roasted Butternut Squash with Yellow Pepper Sauce
The real star of this dish is the brilliant yellow sauce made from roasted yellow peppers. I’ve been making this sauce for many years, spooning it over salmon and grilled pork, always leaving a little on the side for dipping tortilla chips. It’s one of my favorite sauces to put with just about anything, including roasted veggies. On a visit to Taos, New Mexico, just north of Santa Fe, I dined at a restaurant where they cooked squash and chiles in a wood-fired oven. They served the squash in large pieces, covered with chile sauce and pine nuts. I prefer to serve roasted squash in smaller pieces, covered with my favorite sauce, and the fried sage leaves are an added bonus. This is a wonderful dish to put on your holiday table next to your roasted turkey.
Ingredients
Serves 6-8
Roasted Butternut Squash:
2 large butternut squashes
¾ cup olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
12-15 sage leaves
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
Yellow Pepper Sauce:
2 yellow bell peppers
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted
½ teaspoon ancho chile powder
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2/3 cup olive oil
Process
Roasted Butternut Squash:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. With a sharp knife, cut the top and bottom off each squash. Remove the skin with a vegetable peeler or knife. The thicker end of the squash is full of seeds, so use a spoon to scoop out all the seeds. Cut squash in half lengthwise, then cut each half into 1” cubes. On a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil spread out the cubes of butternut squash. Drizzle with ¼ cup olive oil and sprinkle with salt and chile powder. Bake 30 minutes, until tender.
In a small saucepan heat the remaining ½ cup olive oil over medium high heat. Drop 5 or 6 sage leaves into the hot oil and fry for 10 seconds. With a slotted spoon quickly remove sage leaves to a plate lined with a paper towel. Repeat until all sage leaves are fried. To serve, spread the roasted squash on a platter and spoon the pesto all over. Garnish with sage leaves and pine nuts.
Yellow Pepper Sauce:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place peppers on a baking sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes, until skins are blistered and turning black. Remove from pan and place in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to cool. Once cooled, remove stems, seeds, and skin from peppers and discard. Put peppers, garlic, pine nuts, chile powder, cilantro, salt, and pepper in a food processor and pulse until combined. With the motor running, add the oil and process until blended. Pour sauce into a bowl to serve.
