Roasted Butternut Squash with Corn

When Nando's Peri-Peri restaurant first came into the DC Metro area, I was pregnant with Mr. Tomato. I ate there so often that is fetal nickname was Peri. They offer this dish as a "fino" side. I always thought it was a little ... meh. But one Thanksgiving I decided to reproduce it. I found a basic recipe online someplace, which has since been tweaked so much that I don't even know what the source is anymore.

The bonus here is that this recipe is totally vegan. If you're into that sort of thing. Heh.

Roasted Butternut Squash with Corn

1 2 lb. butternut squash, peeled and cut into one-inch, bite-sized pieces
1 large red onion, chopped (about 1.5 cups)
3 Tbsp olive oil (plus an optional 1 – 2 tablespoons for coating squash)
"4" cloves finely minced garlic
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
A "little" hot sauce of your own choosing
1 Tbsp sea salt
2 - 3 ears corn, kernels cut off (approx. 1.5 cups kernels)
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1/2 bunch chopped cilantro, stems removed


• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
• Roast the corn on a cookie sheet for about 5 - 10 minutes, or until they have a little golden color
• Lightly toss the squash in the olive oil and arrange on a cookie sheet. 
• Bake the squash until soft, about 20 minutes
• Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a pot and sauté the onion and garlic
• Add the corn, hot sauce, vinegar, salt, and cayenne to the onions and stir for a minute or so
• Add the dried cranberries and stir for a few more minutes; remove from the heat and add to a large bowl
• Add the cooked squash to your mixture
• Continue to stir the mixture for a few minutes for the flavors to blend
• Add the chopped cilantro to taste.

You can let this sit at room temperature about half an hour for the flavors to blend a bit more. Goes over well with roasted chicken and some wilted swiss chard. Yum!