Kate's Cure for the Common Cuisine: Roasted Butternut Squash with Gorgonzola and Crispy Sage

Another Pinterest find, this dish was absolutely amazing. Upon reading the recipe, I was interested in the taste combination of the robust Gorgonzola, sweetness of both the butternut squash and the caramelized onion, then the crispy sage. I adapted this recipe slightly, mainly in regard to the squash preparation. I made my go-to roasted version coating the cubes in olive oil, dash of punchy balsamic vinegar, then dusted with rosemary and thyme. This gave the squash great dimension and elevated the overall taste of the dish as it blended with the other ingredients. Mr. Max immediately requested for a repeat performance of this side soon, something I always take as a good sign. The longest part of this recipe process is roasting the squash and caramelizing the onions, both timed around 20 minutes. If you do these at the same time, you can multitask and cook other parts of your meal or get things done around the house.

Grocery List:

2 cups butternut squash, cubed
2 tbsp. olive oil
3 shakes of thyme
3 shakes of rosemary
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 onion, chopped into thin rings
2 tbsp. butter, divided
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 cup fresh sage leaves, de-stemmed
1/4 cup Gorgonzola crumbles

Pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees. Toss your cubed butternut squash bites in the olive oil, thyme, rosemary and balsamic.

Spread out on a cooking sheet and pop in the oven for 20 minutes to roast.

Take your onions and add them to a skillet with 1 tbsp. butter. Cook on low heat (3 on the dial), covered, to caramelize. After about 15 minutes, add the brown sugar and saute. Recover and check back every few minutes to move them around in the pan. Total caramelizing time this go-round was 20 minutes.

When the oven goes off, check your roasted squash. Make sure they are soft to bite into and enjoy, but enough but not mushy.

As your squash cools, fry your sage. Using 1 tbsp. butter, melt over medium-high heat, and add the sage leaves. Cook for 3 minutes total to achieve a delicious, crunchy piece of sage. Side story: first time to try this was at the Central Market Gnocchi and Gnudi class with foodie friend, Greer. We fried some sage for the sweet potato gnocchi and I was surprised at the transformation of the taste of that little herb. It takes on almost a salty personality, and with the crisp, it was like a little chip. It was love at first bite. Moving on...

Once your sage is crisped, your squash is roasted and your onions are caramelized, add them to a large skillet or chef's pan. Combine the ingredients over medium heat then add the Gorgonzola crumbles.