By Fall. Deer season prep, stand maintenance with Rémy, venison chili. The season of gumbo weather and hunting mornings and the slow darkening of the days that matches the slow darkening of the roux, and both are beautiful, and both are necessary, and the dark is where the flavor lives.
The dinner table conversations are getting deeper as the kids get older. Colette talks about art and meaning and the responsibility of the artist to preserve what\'s disappearing. Rémy talks about food philosophy and sustainability and the relationship between the hunter and the hunted. These are my children, cher. These are the people the roux built. They think in layers. They see in seasons. They understand that the food on the table is not just fuel but language, and the language is Cajun, and the Cajun is alive.
The conversations around our table have been running deep this fall — Colette on meaning, Rémy on the ethics of the hunt — and I needed something for the nights in between, something warm and layered enough to hold its own against all that thinking. This butternut squash burrito bowl came together the way the best Cajun food always does: you build it slow, you trust the season, and you let the dark sweetness of the squash do its work the same way the roux does. It’s not venison chili, cher, but it speaks the same language — autumn, depth, and a table worth sitting down to.
Butternut Squash Burrito Bowl
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 50 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 medium butternut squash (about 2 lbs), peeled and cubed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 cup long-grain white or brown rice
- 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup frozen or fresh corn kernels
- 1/2 red onion, diced small
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 1/2 cup pico de gallo or fresh salsa
- Sour cream or plain Greek yogurt, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Roast the squash. Preheat oven to 425°F. Toss butternut squash cubes with 1 tablespoon olive oil, cumin, smoked paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Spread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and roast 25–30 minutes, flipping once halfway, until tender and caramelized at the edges.
- Cook the rice. While squash roasts, bring vegetable broth to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add rice, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 18–20 minutes until liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork and season lightly with salt.
- Sauté the beans and corn. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add red onion and jalapeño; cook 3–4 minutes until softened. Stir in black beans and corn, season with salt and pepper, and heat through, about 3 minutes more.
- Finish with lime. Remove bean and corn mixture from heat and squeeze lime juice over everything. Stir to combine.
- Build the bowls. Divide rice among four bowls. Top each with roasted squash, bean and corn mixture, avocado slices, and pico de gallo. Garnish with fresh cilantro and a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt if desired.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 480 | Protein: 14g | Fat: 14g | Carbs: 78g | Fiber: 13g | Sodium: 410mg