I like butternut soup but I'm not always in the mood to prepare it so I often experiment with different ingredients and techniques to find a simple alternative way to enjoy it. This time, I combined it with broccoli and served it with tilapia fillet coz it was the only protein I had in the house at the moment. The flavors complemented each other more than I expected because I've never cooked broccoli with butternut before since they have totally different textures. The whole meal took just under 30 minutes to prepare and cook.
Let me know if you ever try it out and whether you liked it.
Ingredients
- 1/2 butternut squash seeded and cut in cubes
- 1 cup broccoli
- 1 tilapia fillet
- 3 Tbs unsalted butter
- 2 slices of lemon
- 1 Tbs minced garlic
- 1 Tbs dried or fresh parsley
- 1 tbs dill weed
- 1/2 tbs salt
Tbs - tablespoon, tbs - teaspoon. Use as much or as little as you like.
Recipe
Heat the pan, melt 2 Tbs of butter and fry the squash for 2 minutes over high heat to glaze, flipping every 30 seconds, try your best to avoid using spoons (I noticed a significant effect when stirring with spoons). Reduce heat to medium hot then season the dish with parsley, 1/4 tbs salt and 1/2 Tbs garlic then flip every 30 seconds for the next 2 minutes.
Add the broccoli and cilantro. Flip twice and cover to simmer for the next 2 minutes (you can use a spoon at this point if necessary). Check for desired softness using a butter knife. If it goes through without too much force, it's ready for serving, if not serve on a plate and put in the microwave for 1 minute (I like it slightly hard). You can also bake it in a 350 F (175 C) preheated oven for 2-3 minutes in an aluminum foil then let it sit while the fillet cooks.
For the fillet heat a pan, melt 1 Tbs of butter add the lemon slices, 1/2 Tbs garlic and fry for 1 minute over medium heat. Add the fillet, sprinkle the 1/4 tbs salt and dill weed, increase the heat and glaze both sides, then reduce the heat to low and cover to simmer for 4 minutes. At this point you can place the lemon slices either on top of the fillet or on the sides, I prefer the top. Discard lemon slices once the fillet is cooked.
Serve hot, with dry white wine. They go perfect together.