A butternut side dish is pretty standard at a lot of Christmas lunches/dinners but plain mashed butternut is mad boring. This roasted butternut is spiced with sage which is exactly like peanut butter and jam; a winning combo. The butter toasted walnut and cranberry crumble adds dope texture, and the sweetness from the dried cranberries complements the constant need for butternut to have some sort of sweet element to it.

This is very different from your standard, soft, mashed butternut with cinnamon and sugar. But if that’s exactly how you like it may I recommend you keep on doing what you love and then just add the crumble on top because I know you won’t regret it. ☺️

Ingredients

Roasted butternut:

1 medium butternut, peeled and chopped or 1-2 bags pre-chopped butternut

5g fresh sage, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp garlic salt

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Crumble:

3 tbsp vegan butter

50g raw walnuts, lightly crushed

50g dried cranberries

5g fresh sage, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp garlic salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Place the butternut on a baking tray and then season with sage, salt and pepper, garlic salt and extra virgin olive oil. Toss to coat every piece well and roast in oven for about 20min or until a piece of butternut easily falls off a knife when you stab it.

Meanwhile in a frying pan set over medium heat, melt the butter and add your walnuts, cranberries and sage. Fry for about 3 min or until fragrant and lightly toasted. Season with salt pepper and garlic salt.

When the butternut is cooked, lightly mash with a fork then place on a serving dish. Top with the crumble and an optional extra sprinkle of chopped sage.

Serves 4