Butternut Squash Tacos

Fall is my favorite season. The leaves change colors, and everyone pulls out there sweaters and jackets. Fall brings the two most glutinous holidays, Halloween and Thanksgiving. It is also the official season of pumpkin and butternut squash. Both of which are very wonderful ingredients. My grandma would serve roasted butternut squash with brown sugar. It tasted like pumpkin pie but without all the work.

The Thursday farmers market near my office has a stand that sells vegetarian tacos. There is also a stand with incredibly rich and sweet bread pudding, but that is a story for another day. Throughout the summer they have sold tacos with kale, mushrooms, corn and black beans, and eggplant. They awakened a vegetarian taco-loving animal in me. Since butternut squash is beginning to show up in farmers markets and grocery stores, why not put some in a taco?

The ingredients for my butternut squash tacos are queso fresco, corn tortillas, a butternut squash, hot sauce, ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon cumin, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, and ½ teaspoon paprika.

I peeled the skin off the squash and cubed it into ½ inch squares.  This probably goes without saying, but be sure to remove the seeds and other innards from inside the squash.

In a bowl mix the cinnamon, salt, cumin, garlic powder, and paprika together.

I poured the extra virgin olive oil over the cubed squash and stirred. I then added the spices and stirred.

I baked the squash for 25 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. I used a 9 by 13 inch pan, but I would use a larger baking sheet if you have one.

Once the squash was done, I warmed the corn tortillas in a pan. I used the microwave the second time I made these tacos, and that worked just as well.

I added squash, queso fresco, and hot sauce on each tortilla. Queso fresco is a Mexican cheese. Its name means fresh cheese. If you can’t find it, you could use feta. It’s pretty salty and is made from cow’s milk. I found these tortillas at Capital Supermarket. They are handmade in Maryland. They are a little thicker than usual but tasty.

These kind of reminded me of potato and cheese tacos I used to eat when I lived in Texas. If I were you, I would make these. They are easy, cheap, and tasty. The cinnamon blends well with the other spices but also make the flavor unique.