Roasted Cabbage with Pears & Curried Roasted Butternut Squash Mash
We had our first frost last night, or rather a freeze. The cherry tomatoes have finally stopped producing, and only the hardier herbs, fennel, and Swiss chard remain in the kitchen garden unscathed. It was time. The irony is that the weather is turning again, and we are expected to have temperatures in the 70s in a few days! Second Summer, here we go, I’ll take it while it lasts, and move our meals outdoors as long as I can, although it is getting dark early so dinner might be a bit chilly.
The seasons and menus change
Our menus are changing along with the weather. Soup is appearing more often, root vegetables are abundant, and both winter squash and cabbage will play starring roles in many a side dish from here on out, sometimes as the main dish as well. This week, I combined a roasted cabbage and pears side dish with some lovely mashed butternut squash, all nutritional powerhouses that fill you with comfort vibes and delight the taste buds.
The beautiful purple cabbage
Purple cabbage is quite versatile and full of nutrients, and is considered by many to be one of the world’s most nutritional foods ever. I know it is called red cabbage, but it looks pretty purple to me.
Cabbage of any color is low in calories and full of vitamins and minerals, fiber, antioxidants, and micronutrients. A powerful anti-oxidant, it helps prevent heart disease, cancer, and osteoporosis, and supports brain and bone health and blood sugar stability as well. A cup has only 28 calories, but boasts 2 g. of fiber and protein, and less than a gram of fat. It is rich in Vitamins C, K, E, and B6, and is a great source of magnesium, potassium, calcium, zinc, riboflavin, thiamin, phosphorus. That’s a lot in one little head.
Raw, it is tasty in slaws or even chopped up in a salad of greens. It is also delightful grilled, its sweetness enhanced. Juiced, it has many fans, and of course fermentation in the form of sauerkraut, kimchi, and the like goes back thousands of years and is a great boost for gut health, something everyone’s thinking about right now.
Roasting brings out the best
Sometimes I roast the cabbage and combine it with mashed potatoes, a slightly different take on a classic colcannon. I love it roasted with sweet local pears, a lovely combination, and with a bit of ginger and garlic, out of this world. Served alongside Curried Roasted Butternut Squash Mash, you have all you need!
Butternut Squash
One cup of butternut squash has only 82 calories and includes: no fat, 22 g. carbs, 7 g. fiber, 2 g. protein, more than 100% of daily needs for Vitamin A, half your Vitamin C, plus a good source of magnesium, potassium, and calcium. It contains lutein which is beneficial for your eyes, and is great for bone health, blood sugar and pressure control, and your immune system. Nutritional information from MyFitnessPal and WebbMD.
Plus, did you notice how nice these two vegetables are together, with different colors and textures as well!
If making both dishes for supper, start with the squash and toss in the cabbage ingredients at about the half hour mark.
Roasted Cabbage with Pears
What’s really nice about this recipe is that there is very little hands-on time and it is fairly quick to make on a weeknight. The purple cabbage is higher in minerals than the green, but the green works fine here as well. The ginger and garlic lend a lot to the dish, but you can omit them if you don’t care for them, and you can substitute an apple for the pear if you like.
- I small head purple cabbage, shredded
- 1 large pear, cubed
- 1 knob ginger, minced
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced and cut in half
- Olive oil
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Shred the cabbage as for a slaw, and core and dice your pear. No need to peel. Use as large a knob of ginger as you want, and slice it, then cut it into strips, and cut into small dice. No need to peel this either. Slice the garlic and either leave the slices as is, or cut in half or quarters. Yes, you need to peel!
Oil a rimmed baking sheet (remember when these were called jelly-roll pans?) and add all the ingredients. Drizzle a bit more oil on top, salt and pepper to taste, and using your fingers or tongs, mix it all up and spread out to a single layer.
Bake for 15 minutes, turn, then bake another five to 10 minutes, until the cabbage is softened but not mushy, with a few crispy edges, and the garlic is starting to brown.
Curried Roasted Butternut Squash Mash
At its most basic, all you really need for a delicious side of mashed butternut squash is the squash itself, butter, salt, and pepper. Nothing more is needed.
You can boil the squash, steam it, grill it, or roast it, the latter two adding more flavor to the simple.
However, gilding the lily is fun, so adding spices, herbs, and aromatics will add to the flavor. My mom sometimes added a bit of maple syrup to make it even sweeter, something I don’t think is necessary, sorry mom!
This recipe simply enhances the flavors a bit with some roasted onion, garlic, and a touch of curry powder. If you don’t like these, just leave them out. Or, think of something you do love to add.
- 1 butternut squash
- 1 large onion
- 4 garlic cloves, in their skin
- 1 tsp. curry powder
- Salt and pepper
- Butter or vegan butter
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
With a large heavy knife, slice the squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds (save these to roast, if you like). Brush the cavity with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, place on a rimmed baking sheet. Peel the onion and cut it in half at the equator. Brush that with oil, season, and place on the sheet as well. Brush unpeeled garlic cloves with oil and toss them on too.
Bake for about an hour, until the flesh of the squash is nice and tender. The onion may finish roasting before the squash is done, and the garlic cloves should be soft after a half hour or so.
When done, toss the onion in a food processor or food mill and purée. If you have neither, mince up finely. Place in a large bowl. Scoop the flesh out of the squash and place in the bowl. Squeeze the innards from the garlic cloves and add that too, along with the curry powder, salt and pepper to taste, and a nice blob of butter, also to your taste. Mash it all up and serve! This will make a lot, but no worries, it freezes and reheats beautifully.
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That looks so good! I have to make it!
These recipes look amazing. I want to try your roasted cabbage and pear as stuffing in an acorn squash. I think it would work, maybe with a bit of brown rice added. Something to ponder on a cold evening!!
Oh yes! It would be perfect, and so pretty!
These colors, Dorothy. I am speechless. 🍁🍂🌾
The first bite with the eyes, right?
You are getting ready for the fall menu, looks tasty.
What a fall treat as well as a feast for the eyes! No hard frost yet at our house by the edge of the woods.
Ah, the Trees are protecting you!
Yup. Still no hard frost on October 21. I love the notion of trees protecting us. Reminds me of Ents from Lord of the Rings.
Yes!
Right now, it is 74 degrees here! I’ll take it, but it does worry me.
I feel exactly the same way. Lovely weather, but…
Thanks Jan! So many lovely fall veggies!
That purple cabbage is beautiful!
They are so lovely! Always a treat.
The colors are popping, D! Looks luscious!
Thanks N.! I’m surrounded by color!
What a beautiful picture of the purple cabbage.
It was a great model!
No squirming about? 😆
Didn’t budge an inch, or even blink!
Yum! This looks and sounds absolutely delicious. I woul love to eat a plateful of this right now!
Thanks! It was really good, and the leftovers just as satisfying!
This looks delicious! My two favorite fall vegetables. I will definitely give this a try this week!
Then this is perfect for you! I hope you enjoy it all!
What a beautiful and flavor filled dish!
Jenna
Thank you Jenna! It was really tasty.
Curried butternut sounds delicious!
It’s so good, especially on a chilly night!
I will try it, now that I am using curry.
I love playing around with curry flavors. I really don’t know what I’m doing, but it always tastes good!
Love the contrasting colors in this tasty and healthy combination. Pairing cabbage and pear (I usually opt for apple), is one I’ll be trying very soon! 🙂
It seems I’m back to my old ways… 😀
Yes, it seems that way!
So good! Both apple and pear are nice here, or maybe both!
Yum two of my favourite foods it looks delicious and yes we experienced a frost on our UK visit 🙂 x
There’s something about the air the morning of the first frost, so crisp and vibrant, and it smells like Autumn.
Don’t you just love it when two delicious foods are so vibrant that it’s automatic art without much effort? This looks amazing and I never thought of pears with cabbage, which I should because I often use apples which is hit or miss b/c of a rare allergy. Thanks for sharing!
Those are happy little happenings in the kitchen! When I put this platter together, I felt like I was playing with my paint box!
The cabbage recipe calls to me, but… “these were called jelly-roll pans?” In this house they are still jelly-roll pans, granted I haven’t made a jelly roll in decades, but tradition!
I don’t know when jelly roll pan was renamed rimmed baking sheet, or why! Perhaps because hardly anyone makes jelly rolls any more I guess. I still call them a jelly roll pan, and a cookie sheet was totally flat with no rims at all!
Same.
Looks like an antioxidant smorgasbord to me. Love it!!!
That’s exactly what it is!
I love butternut squash Dorothy, I will have to give your recipe a try.
Thanks! It’s simple but so satisfying!
Just bought so butternut squash today! I’m going to try this recipe.
I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Looks colorful and delicious!
Thank you! We enjoy both these dishes a lot.
Such bright yummy colors! A fall treat!
Thank you Nancy! It was a treat.
You are spot on with the change of produce, Dorothy. Thank you for sharing your red cabbage recipe. I don’t know many ways to prepare it except raw in salads and sweet and sour. And your red cabbage and sweet potatoes do look beautiful together.
Thanks Mary! They like each other, in companionship and flavor. I took all the leftovers and mixed them all together and it was delightful
So ready to embrace everything fall has to offer-cool weather, the fall crops. I even like when the skies get dark earlier.
I was just thinking last night that when the sun goes down at this time of year, it is almost like a curtain and it is instantly pitch dark. In midsummer, twilight lasts for well over an hour or two.
Amazing combinations and processes!😋💕☕️☕️
Why thank you very much!!
Thank you so much for sharing this.
I love cooking with cabbage and I forget just how healthy it is. This recipe sounds amazing and I’m determined to try it.
I look forward to seeing more vibrant healthy recipes!
Thank you so much! That humble little cabbage should be the next superstar!
Now I’m hungry 😋
Then let’s eat!