Butternut Squash and Couscous Salad

When your [appreciative] vegan friends come into town, you're forced to make new recipes or go out for all meals. So cooking one meal out of six isn't bad, right? After asking my coworker for a recipe, we came up with an almost vegan dish: Couscous Salad with Butternut Squash and Cranberries. Technically the recipe isn't vegan since it has goat cheese in it, but vegan cheese could be substituted, so I thought it was a winner. I bought the recipe home to show H, who made the best horrified face I've ever seen! I realized quickly that the recipe was too sweet for the guy. After thinking about it, I decided to alter it a little to make it a little more savory sounding. Here's what I came up with:

Butternut Squash and Couscous Salad

1 medium (2 1/2 - 3 lb) butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 onion, diced
1/4 cup diced fresh tomatoes

1/4 cup diced sun-dried tomatoes

1 cup water

1 cup uncooked couscous

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon chili-infused olive oil

1 teaspoon chipotle tabasco hot sauce

Zest of one orange

1/2 teaspoon coriander

1 teaspoon Albanian-rubbed sage

1/2 teaspoon rosemary

1 teaspoon cumin

2-4 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 can garbanzo beans, drained

3 oz goat cheese (or vegan cheese)

Pre-heat oven to 425° F. Toss the squash and onion with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread them out on a baking sheet and roast, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender and the onions are starting to crisp at the tips, about 30 minutes. 

Meanwhile, bring 1 teaspoon salt, the water, and 1 teaspoon olive oil to a boil in a small saucepan. Stir in the couscous and remove from heat. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes until the couscous has absorbed all the water. Fluff the couscous with a fork and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, olive oil, hot sauce, orange zest, spices, and 1 teaspoon of salt.

Combine squash, onions, couscous, garbanzo beans, and tomatoes in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the salad and stir to combine. Gently fold the cheese into the salad. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

The original recipe says to serve the salad cold or at room temperature. Personally, I think this version is better served warm (so I heated mine up in the microwave for 20-30 seconds). 

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

This might just be my new favorite soup recipe. I've made it twice now, and neither time I got a picture of it. Just picture a bowl of yummy, creamy, yellow soup! :) The original recipe says that it serves 6-8 people. Either my family isn't big on soup or it's more like 10-12 people. We do usually eat something along with the soup, so maybe that's why. It makes great leftovers and freezes well, so I'm okay with the large batch. Mm-Mmmm. Okay, here's the recipe:

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

2 T olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

6-8 garlic cloves, crushed (we love our garlic!)

1 t crushed red pepper flakes

one 4-5 lb butternut squash, peeled and cube*

one 28 oz can diced tomatoes

2 cans coconut milk

4 c vegetable stock

1/2 c chopped cilantro

2 t sea salt, plus more to taste

*Instead of peeling and cubing the squash, you can split it in half and bake it at 350 in the oven until tender. I think this takes about 20-30 minutes. Scoop out the cooked flesh and add it with the tomatoes, coconut milk, and stock. 

In a large stock pot (about 8 quarts), heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for five minutes. Then add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Saute for another minute or two, stirring frequently to reduce burning. 

Add the squash, tomatoes, coconut milk and vegetable stock. If you added the squash raw, cover and simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes or until the squash is very tender. If you added the squash pre-baked, just cook until all the ingredients are heated through. 

When everything is cooked/heated, stir in the cilantro. Ladle some of the soup into a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Transfer to a clean pot or bowl. Continue to blend the soup in batches until all soup has been pureed. If you like your soup more chunky, only puree half of the soup. Add the sea salt to taste. Enjoy!