Roasted Butternut Squash and Chickpeas with Hot Honey #recipe from Molly MacRae

 

If you need a tasty, pretty, vegetarian dish for any of the upcoming holidays, give this one a try. Its warm colors and flavors will make a cheerful addition to any table. It’s also a great remedy for the short, dark, cold days ahead. It works well on its own or you can serve it with quinoa (or rice or couscous). If you don’t have hot honey it’s easy enough to make. Here’s the recipe I posted here back in April—Hot honey.

 

Roasted Butternut Squash and Chickpeas with Hot Honey

Adapted from Melissa Clark in The New York Times

 

Ingredients

2 (14.5-ounce) cans chickpeas (preferably not “no salt added”), drained and rinsed

2 1/2 pounds butternut (or similar) squash, peeled, trimmed, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes (about 6 cups)

1 3/4 teaspoons garam masala (or other spice blend of your choice)

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

5 thyme sprigs

1/8 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon cider vinegar or rice wine vinegar

1/2 cup fresh dill sprigs or cilantro (or a combination)

1 to 2 tablespoons hot honey

Plain whole-milk yogurt for serving

Quinoa, rice, or couscous for serving (optional)

 

Directions

Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Line one sheet pan with parchment paper and a second with paper towels. Put drained, rinsed chickpeas on the paper towel-lined pan and gently rub and pat them dry. Set this pan at the back of the stove top to let chickpeas dry further while you prepare the squash.

Put the cubes squash on the parchment-lined pan and toss with 1 teaspoon garam masala, 1/2 teaspoon salt, thyme sprigs, red pepper flakes, and 2 tablespoons oil. Spread squash into an even layer and roast for 20 minutes.

While the squash roasts, put the chickpeas in a medium bowl and add red onion, remaining 3/4 teaspoon garam masala, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon oil. Toss until well combined.

After the squash roasts for 20 minutes, remove pan from oven, add chickpea mixture, and stir everything well. Return pan to oven and roast for another 30 minutes, tossing halfway through, until squash is golden brown and tender and the chickpeas and onions are slightly crispy.

Remove pan from oven. Sprinkle vinegar and herbs over squash and toss. Drizzle hot honey and toss again to combine. Taste and add more salt, honey, or vinegar to taste. Serve with dollops of yogurt and, if you like, quinoa, rice, or couscous. 

click here for a pdf of the recipe

 

Take time, this winter, to curl up with a trio of cozies – a drink, a treat, and a good book. May I suggest a bit of armchair travel, too?  

Visit Ocracoke Island, off the coast of North Carolina, in the Haunted Shell Shop Mysteries.

 

Or travel to the Scottish Highlands in the Highland Bookshop Mysteries.

 

Spend time in northeast Tennessee in the Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries, two stand-alone mysteries, and a collection of short stories. 

Or travel from Cape Cod on the east coast to Monterey on the west coast, with a stop in Ohio along the way in my very gentle mysteries written as Margaret Welch.

 

Happy reading!

 

 

The Boston Globe says Molly MacRae writes “murder with a dose of drollery.” She’s the author of the award-winning, national bestselling Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries and the Highland Bookshop Mysteries. As Margaret Welch, she writes books for Annie’s Fiction. Her short stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and she’s a winner of the Sherwood Anderson Award for Short Fiction. Visit Molly on Facebook and Pinterest and connect with her on Instagram or Bluesky.