Roasted butternut squash with a creamy guajillo tomato sauce

This roasted butternut squash with a creamy guajillo chile and tomato sauce is the perfect vegetarian main dish for chilly fall evenings.

Inspiration for this butternut squash recipe

For this dish, I was initially inspired by a recipe in Margarita Carrillo Arronte’s Mexico: The Cookbook called “Chicken in Creamy Tomato Sauce.” My first thought was to use the sauce for vegetarian enchiladas, but as I started cutting into a beautiful butternut squash, it started speaking to me. “Don’t hide me in tortillas, don’t drown me under sauce,” it cried (do your vegetables talk to you, too?).  So I listened, pivoted, and made the butternut the main attraction. Pumpkin or sweet potatoes would be delightful here as well. The sauce is also star in its own right and could be used in a hundred different ways.

Nutritional benefits of butternut squash

Butternut squash is a carbohydrate that is actually good for you! In addition to being a good source of fiber, it also contains high amounts of beta-carotene, potassium, vitamin B, vitamin C, as well as magnesium.

How to serve this roasted butternut squash

With the low hum of chile, the unexpected warmth from clove and allspice berries, along with its comforting creamy texture, this dish will take you right into fall. It might sound odd, but a light shower of fresh mint takes the aroma to a whole new level.

Serve this roasted butternut squash with rice, beans and warm tortillas for a completely comforting vegetarian meal. 

Roasted Butternut Squash with Creamy Guajillo Chile Tomato Sauce

Emily Schmidt

This roasted butternut squash with creamy tomato guajillo chile sauce is the perfect vegetarian main dish for fall.

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Total Time 50 minutes mins

Course main, side

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 4

Equipment

• 1 Food processor or blender
• 1 Fine mesh strainer
• 1 Immersion blender (optional)

Ingredients

  

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For the sauce:

• 10 guajillo chiles stem and seeds removed
• 16 puya chiles stem and seeds removed
• 2 cups water
• 15 allspice berries whole
• 5 cloves whole
• 2 tbs oil olive or canola
• 1.5 lbs ripe tomatoes about 6 medium
• ½ onion roughly chopped
• 4 cloves garlic whole
• 1 sprig marjoram
• 5 mint leaves (2 to simmer, 3 to garnish)
• 1 ¼ cup Mexican crema or heavy whipping cream (1 for saue, 1/4 to drizzle)

For the butternut squash:

• 1 large butternut squash peeled, guts and seeds removed, and cut into 1/2 inch thick crescents
• 3 tbs olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• To serve:
• 3 mint leaves julienned

Instructions

 

• Toast the guajillo and puya chiles in a large skillet over medium heat for about 2 minutes. You’ll notice that they become shiny and more flexible. Be careful not to burn them.
• Transfer the chiles to a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let the chiles rehydrate for about 15 minutes. Be sure to reserve 2 cups of the soaking liquid- lots of flavor here!
• While the chiles are rehydrating,set your oven rack up high, about 4 inches from the element and set to broil at 450 degrees F. Lightly char the tomatoes, garlic and onion for about 10-15 minutes, flipping halfway through.
• In the same pan you toasted the chiles, wake up the allspice and clove by toasting them over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, until they become fragrant but not burnt.
• Once your chiles have softened, transfer them and 2 cups of the soaking liquid, as well as the allspice and cloves to a blender or food processor. Puree on high for about a minute, breaking down the chiles as much as possible.
• Strain the chile and spice liquid with a medium mesh strainer, over a bowl, squishing out as much chile goodness possible, leaving the tougher skin behind.
• Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium. Once it’s hot, add the chile mixture (keep a lid handy, it will probably spit and splatter). Reduce heat to medium low and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
• Puree the tomato, onion and garlic in the same blender or food processor bowl as the chiles for about a minute until smooth. Strain in the same way as the chiles, adding a bit of water (¼ cup approximately), if needed to extract as much of the tomato mixture as possible.
• Add tomato mixture to the saucepan with the chiles, season with salt and pepper. Add a sprig of marjoram and 2 mint leaves and let simmer for 20 minutes.
• While the sauce simmers, prepare the butternut squash. Preheat the oven to 425 F. Peel the squash with a vegetable peeler, removing the tough, outer rind. Laying it down on its side, cut off the ends, and slice through the place where the bulbous belly and the longer skinny part of the squash meet. Standing it up on its end, cut through the belly of the squash and remove the seeds, strings and guts. Chop both parts of the squash into 1/2 inch crescents.
• Place the butternut squash pieces in a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Bake for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through. A little char around the edges gives them a sweet little crunch.
• Once your sauce has simmered for 20 minutes, remove from the heat. Once it stops bubbling slowly add in the cream. If your sauce happens to break, as mine did, don’t stress, just buzz it up with an immersion blender to return to a state of creamy, smooth happiness. Cover and let the sauce hang out on very low heat until ready to serve.
• Time to plate! Add a generous ladle of sauce to the plate. Drizzle with cream. Lay butternut squash on top and garnish with julienned mint.

Notes

Puya chiles are similar to guajillos in flavor but smaller and a bit hotter. They are generally available in Latin markets, but if you can’t find them substitute with half as many guajillo chiles.

Keyword Fall Dinner, gluten-free, Vegetarian, Vegetarian Mains

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