Nearly every holiday, I show up with some variation on orzo salad. At Easter, there are peas, asparagus, and goat cheese, at Christmas, I’ll arrive with a version containing sundried tomatoes, walnuts, and feta, and, of course, you just know I’m showing up at your Labor Day party with a chopped up Caprese salad dumped into the orzo. Predictable, predictable, predictable.
Given this now-confessed predictability, it should not surprise you that this recipe started its life as the super-exciting, totally unexpected idea for my brand spankin’ new Thanksgiving orzo salad. Because I’m pretty sure that my family is going to be stoked when I show up with yet another orzo dish. And, as I am so reliant upon orzo, of course there is orzo in our pantry. There is never not orzo in our pantry.
Only when it came time to make the orzo, it seemed that the pantry moths whose existence I was certain I had obliterated during the Great Pantry Moth Extermination of 2013, held just a month ago, and during which all improperly stored grain products were disposed of – including 40 pounds of flour (noooooooo!), random containers of rice, farro, and the like, and my beloved Lazzaroni amaretti cookies (I should have sealed them better. I should have stored them in the fridge. I should have protected them. I failed, and now I pay the price.) – well, it turns out, I had not destroyed all of the moths.
Have you ever compared pantry moth larvae to orzo? (You may be wondering how you got to the point where you are still reading this post, discussing, as it does, larvae, and I assure you, I have thought this through. Last week, I completely revised a post about pig flatulence – well, really it was about marinated pork tenderloin, so I went back to that – in order to entice you into possibly making said dish. I am at least borderline aware of the limits of grossness as it applies to discussing food. Borderline aware.)
So, if you haven’t compared moth larva, which is only a nice way of saying a worm – or perhaps that’s the other way around – worm is nicer than larvae, I think – if you haven’t done the comparison, they are strikingly similar. Thankfully, moth larvae move when startled, which orzo (orzi? Plural?) do not do. You can see where we’re going now, right?
With no moth larvae-free orzo in the house, improvisation kicked in. And, it turns out, improvisation worked well for this cinnamon-y squash dish. Thanks for that, pantry moth mo-fos.
If you do have first-quality, unsullied orzo in the house, you could still make an orzo salad of this – you know what to do, just cook the whole one-pound box and stir it together with this roasted squash combo. Maybe add a little more olive oil to the finished dish if you think it needs it.
With cinnamon and turbinado sugar coating the squash, it’s a wee bit sweet, however, if you aren’t as big a fan of sweet as am I, balance the flavors by serving it alongside wild rice (which, smartly – for a change – had been stored in the refrigerator. Thank goodness. The resemblance between rice and worms is even closer.).
Together, wild rice and the squash is a great match for turkey (hello, Thanksgiving!), chicken, or pork, or, as I’ve been using the leftovers, as a vegan lunch option. Oh look. We ended on a worm-free up note. How nice.
Ingredients
- (1) 3 ½ to 4 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, chopped into roughly 1-inch cubes (approximately 7 to 8 cups total cubed squash)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon turbinado sugar (Sugar in the Raw)
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup toasted chopped pecans
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375ºF.
- In a medium mixing bowl, toss the butternut squash cubes with the olive oil, then season with pepper.
- Mix the cinnamon and sugar together, then sprinkle it over the butternut squash, stirring to evenly distribute.
- Arrange the squash in a single layer on a 10 by 15-inch rimmed baking sheet.
- Roast until the squash is tender and beginning to brown at the edges, 40 to 45 minutes.
- Remove the squash from the oven, transfer to a serving bowl, then toss the dried cranberries and pecans into the bowl and stir well.
- Season with salt and pepper and serve it forth.
Notes
If you're making this ahead of time to be reheated, store the pecans in an airtight container until it’s time to serve. This will keep them from losing their crunch.
If you’re buying pre-cut butternut squash in the 20-ounce container, each package contains about 3 cups of butternut squash. If you’re feeding four people, I’d recommend rounding up to buy three packages rather than 2.
To toast chopped pecans: preheat the oven to 350ºF. Arrange the pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet and cook until they are fragrant and lightly browned (now that smells like a holiday – we need a toasted pecan candle, STAT!), 8 to 10 minutes.
I have been looking for a new butternut squash recipe for Thanksgiving and I think this May be the winner!
Yay! I’ll keep my fingers crossed that it makes the cut, and I hope that everyone likes it! Thank you, Brian!!!
I seem to always make the same dishes every Thanksgiving. Wait ’til the family gets a load of this, YUM! My mother has those pesky moths-they even followed her when she moved!
Your poor mom! Though I do think that these moths will also follow me wherever I go. This morning, I grabbed a loaf of bread from the pantry (to make super-fancy toast with peanut butter for breakfast – argh! But I forgot the apple for fiber! Darn it!), and a worm fell off the wrapper onto the kitchen counter. I can’t stand them, nasty-arse moths! I hope that your family likes the squash (positive note!)! xo!
I added ground chipotle and finished with a touch of maple syrup. A very nice addition if you like a little heat.
That sounds amazing, Scott. I’m going to do that the next time I make it. Thank you for sharing!
I made this today for our Thanksgiving meal and it was a big hit. I will be hanging on to this recipe for sure. Thank you!
Hi Linda, I’m so glad that the squash was a hit! Thank you for letting me know! Take care, Amy
I am so looking forward to serving my guests for our Canada Thanksgiving this Sunday. Totally sounds delicious! Thanks!
YAY! Thank you, Janet! I love this, and hope that everyone enjoyed it!