Ginger + Butternut Thanksgiving Meal Prep
TUESDAY or WEDNESDAY
[ ] ginger sauce
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place ginger, unpeeled and uncut, on baking sheet and set timer for 45 minutes. Place 4 cloves of garlic on the stove in a small saucepan, with the cloves covered in olive oil. Bring oil to a boil, and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and set timer for 20 minutes. Remove garlic from heat after 20 minutes. Pass garlic through a fine mesh sieve, and reserve garlic oil for another use (like your eggs the next morning!).
Remove ginger from the oven at 45 minutes. Peel the skin off with a knife or peeler - it should come off very easily. Blend all of the dressing ingredients in a blender until mostly smooth - a little chunkiness is OK. Place ginger sauce in a jar, refrigerate until Thursday.
WEDNESDAY
[ ] begin the butternut squash
Slice ends off of butternut squash, and cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds. Peel with a vegetable peeler or knife...be careful if using a knife. Peeling a butternut squash is a task. Place cut side down on baking sheet. Pour a tablespoon of olive oil over each butternut squash half and rub all over using your fingers. Place in the oven for 18 minutes. After the squash has roasted for 18 minutes, remove and test it by cutting a thin slice. If the knife slides through easily and the squash retains its shape, great. If it is still a bit too hard, place it in the oven for a few more minutes. Create thin slices in each squash half, but stop before cutting all the way through, so the squash retains its shape. Cover on a plate with aluminum foil, and place in the fridge overnight. Make sure it doesn't get squished!
[ ] make your grain
Cook quinoa or whatever other grain you've chosen. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
THURSDAY
[ ] finito.
On a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil, cover each squash half with another tablespoon of olive oil, and sprinkle each with kosher salt. Place in the oven for another 25-30 minutes, until the squash is tender. While the squash is cooking, heat up quinoa over the stove, and heat up sauce gently (over low heat) in a saucepan. Blend the sauce again if it has separated. Chop scallions, mint, and parsley for serving.
Remove butternut squash from the oven. If hasselbacked, serve over a bed of quinoa, with a sprinkle of black sesame seeds and drizzled generously with ginger sauce, scallions, mint, and parsley.