Week 3--Butternut Squash

This week I've chosen one of my favorite items of the winter bounty:  Butternut Squash.

Butternut squash has a sweet, nutty taste similar to that of a pumpkin. It has yellow skin and orange fleshy pulp. When ripe, it turns increasingly deep orange, and becomes sweeter and richer. It grows on a vine and it is considered a fruit!  It can be roasted, pureed or mashed into soups, casseroles, breads, and muffins.  Butternut squash is a good source of fiber, vitamin C, manganese, magnesium, and potassium.  It is also an excellent source of vitamin A and vitamin E.  (source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butternut_squash)

The recipe I've chosen today can be found here:  http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/beef-tagine-with-squash-50400000109584/  Although as always I've made some modifications.  Here is what you will need:

Ingredients

2 to 3lbs beef shoulder roast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes.  For this recipe I bought some free range, all natural beef from Trader Joes.  I got 2 packages each of about 1.5lbs. 

2TB garam masala

Salt

Crushed red pepper

Freshly ground black pepper

1TB olive oil

1 large red onion

4 large garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup dry red wine

2 cups of chicken or beef broth 

1 28 oz jar of crushed tomatoes or marinara sauce (I will no longer be using canned tomatoes due to risk of BPA contamination).  I couldn't find crushed tomatoes so I went for the organic marinara sauce from Trader Joes.

6 cups cubed peeled butternut squash (about 3 small)

Fresh cilantro, chopped.

Directions

1. Combine beef, garam masala, red pepper, black pepper, and salt in a shallow dish

2. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat.  Add onions and beef and cook until browned (approximately 10 minutes).

3. Add garlic and cook an additional minute.

4. Add wine, broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and let simmer for at least 1 hour.  I let mine simmer for about 90 minutes and it was still a bit tough.  2 hours will probably be ok. 

5. Add squash and cook an additional 30 minutes or until squash is tender.

6. Turn off heat, stir in cilantro, taste and add more salt if needed.

7.  Serve with couscous or quinoa.  Enjoy!