Honest Review: Derek Sarno’s Butternut Squash Vegan Filet
Butternut Squash ‘filet’ over sweet potato, cauliflower and roasted red pepper mash
It’s Fall Up North, and I’m Here Sweating in Front of My Fan
Even though I’ve traded North America for the Caribbean (A long time ago!), I can’t help but ride the seasonal vibes! Sure, it’s 'rainy season' here, but my heart still craves the October/November chill, the fiery orange and red leaves, and the cozy glow of a lit fireplace.
As the month wraps up, what’s this I sense? The ‘Christmas breeze’? Oh yes! That delightful moment when the heat finally eases up. It’s the perfect time to fire up the oven again without melting into a puddle! If you live in the Caribbean, you know what I’m talking about.
The market has been selling some local squash and I found two perfect-sized butternuts to take home.
This leads me to a few dishes from Derek Sarno, a vegan YouTuber I love for his mouthwatering mushroom-based recipes—and let’s not forget his adorable dog, Frankie, who often steals the spotlight in his b-roll!
The Review
In one of his videos, Derek takes 3 large butternuts and roasts them–skin on–in the oven for over an hour or so, and leaves them to cool for a couple of days in the fridge before peeling. Using a cylinder cutter, like a cookie cutter or ring mould, he then shapes them so they’re perfectly(ish) round.
Derek then seasons them like you would a steak, and in a hot cast iron skillet, sears the squash on every side, allowing the seasonings and oil to flavour the squash.
In my humble opinion: if you like butternut squash, this is an excellent and unique way to eat it. I thought to myself, “What a great way to take a vegetable and make it un-boring!”
In another one of his squash videos from a few years ago, he instead sears the Squash as a whole (already roasted and peeled), seasoned, in a hot cast iron skillet, and then serves it like you would a pork roast, on a bed of wilted spinach and drowned in a mushroom gravy. This to me looked even better than the single filets he did in the first video that I watched.
What We Did Differently
After searing the squash, I placed it on a bed of mashed sweet potato and cauliflower and garnished it with some roasted mix nuts and spiced for added crunch.
The Rating
Taste:
Flavour profile 7/10
Balance of flavours 7/10
Combined Textures 4/10
Overall taste 8/10
Presentation:
Visual appeal: 9/10
Plating technique 9/10
Overall presentation 9/10
Difficulty:
Ease of preparation: Very Easy
Complexity of ingredients: Not Complex
Time commitment: Long (baking, searing, baking)
Cost-effectiveness:
Affordability of ingredients 10/10
Value for money 10/10
Would we make it again?
Yes! I would make this again. I would like to try it over a salad, mashed potatoes or polenta. I would definitely have it with gravy. I enjoyed his presentation from his first video - where he laid it on the wilted spinach and drizzled the gravy.
What should we review next?
Got a recipe you’d like us to review? Drop it in the form below!
You can watch his video below
