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Roasted Butternut Squash with Cumin Seeds, Feta and Pistachios

Roasted Butternut Squash with Cumin Seeds, Feta and Pistachios

By Courtney HillOctober 12, 2020

  • Makes
    4 servings
  • Cook Time
    50 minutes
  • Active time plus cooling
    20 minutes active
  • Rating

This flavor-packed winter squash side dish is an adaptation of a recipe from “365: A Year of Everyday Cooking and Baking” by Meike Peters, an award-winning cookbook author and food blogger. The subtle earthy sweetness and velvety texture of roasted butternut is a backdrop for vibrant accents: smoky, savory cumin; salty, briny feta; and nutty, crunchy pistachios. We like the flavor pop of lightly crushed cumin seeds; a mortar and pestle are a low-tech way to crush the seeds, or you can pulse them a few times in an electric spice grinder. Mixing the feta with a few tablespoons of heavy cream is an unusual technique, but the cream lends the dryish, crumbly cheese an unctuousness that helps tie everything together.

Tip

Don’t use precrumbled feta, as it lacks flavor and does not combine well with the cream. Also, don’t use milk or half-and-half in place of the cream; their lower fat content will cause them to curdle when mixed with the lime juice. Finally, don’t make the feta-cream mixture until the squash has been transferred to the serving platter. If left to stand for too long, the feta absorbs the moisture and the mixture loses its creaminess.

Ingredients
  • ¼

    cup extra-virgin olive oil

  • 2

    teaspoons cumin seeds, lightly crushed

  • 1½

    teaspoons packed light brown sugar

  • 1

    teaspoon Aleppo pepper or ¾ teaspoon sweet paprika mixed with ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, divided

  • Kosher salt and ground black pepper

  • 2

    pound butternut squash, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded and cut crosswise into 1-inch-thick pieces

  • 4

    ounces (1 cup) feta cheese, crumbled (see headnote)

  • 3

    tablespoons heavy cream

  • ¼

    teaspoon grated lime zest, plus ½ teaspoon lime juice

  • 3

    tablespoons raw or roasted pistachios, chopped

Step 1

Heat the oven to 400°F with a rack in the lower-middle position. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, cumin, sugar, ¾ teaspoon Aleppo pepper, 1½ teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Add the squash and toss.

Distribute in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet, then pour any oil remaining in the bowl over the squash. Roast until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the largest piece meets no resistance, 35 to 40 minutes.

Step 2

Using a wide metal spatula, transfer the squash to a serving platter. In a small bowl, fold together the feta, cream, lime zest and juice and the remaining ¼ teaspoon Aleppo pepper; the mixture will resemble cottage cheese.

Spoon the feta mixture over the squash and sprinkle with the pistachios.

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