Savory ground lamb with cherries , mint & rosemary + roasted butternut squash – a healthy & tasty alternative to pasta & meat sauce – served with a mixed greens salad
Ingredients: free range ground lamb – found it @sprouts , frozen organic cherries , slivered blanched almonds, organic tomato paste, onion , garlic , fresh mint & rosemary + cucumber micro greens (optional) – all from @alo_farms , butternut squash, olive oil, shaved Parmesan , pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, salt & pepper.
Side salad: mixed lettuces, a drizzle of olive oil, juice of 1/3 lemon & salt.
Start by roasting the butternut squash. Wash & dry squash. Using a sharp knife , cut ends & then length wise. Scoop out seeds, flip over & cut into approx. 1” slices, then cut those into cubes. Toss lightly with olive oil, salt, pumpkin pie spice & cinnamon. Spread out on baking sheet & roast in oven at 425 for approx. 35-40 minutes until squash is tender.
Meat sauce:
Finely chop approx. 1/2 medium onion & 4 garlic cloves. Prepare the herbs (clean & roughly chop the mint & rosemary, gently rinse & dry the cucumber micro greens). I was pretty generous with the herbs & used approx. 2-3 tbsp. of the mint & rosemary each. Save the cucumber greens for the very end. Cut the cherries into 1/4. I used approx 2/3 of a bag of frozen cherries.
Heat up sauté pan over medium , add olive oil. Sauté first the onions, then once onions start getting translucent, add the garlic, then the ground lamb. Season & add approx. 1/3 of the mint & rosemary. Once the meat is almost fully browned, add the cherries + approx. 2-3 tbsp of tomato paste + another 1/3 of the herbs. Continue cooking on low for another 1-2 minutes so all flavors blend well.
In a separate small sauté pan, heat up olive oil & toast the slivered almonds. Add the toasted almonds to the meat sauce & mix well. Take off heat & add last 1/3 of the herbs. Taste & add more salt, if needed.
In a shallow bowl, add first the roasted butternut squash, then the meat sauce, then shaved Parmesan. Top with the cucumber greens. Serve with the mixed lettuce salad.
Enjoy!
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