Autumn has well and truly set in with rainy days and chilly evenings, however it has bought us roasted squash season! Butternut squash can be found in abundance in the supermarket at the moment, making it the perfect center piece of your meal. Served with a rich garlicky tomato sauce, chilli flakes and a dill pesto; this would make a delicious Sunday lunch alternative to meat.
Serves 2
Ingredients:
- 1 Butternut Squash
- 1 Bulb Garlic
- 1 tin Chopped Tomatoes
- 5 tbsp Olive Oil
- Salt & Pepper
- Chilli Flakes
- Fresh Coriander
For the Pesto:
- 70g Spinach
- 1 Clove Garlic
- Juice 1/2 Lemon
- 10g Pine Nuts
- 20g Fresh Dill
- 2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- 50g Olive Oil
- Salt & Pepper
Method:
- Preheat your oven to 180 degrees.
- Start by peeling your butternut squash before cutting it in half length ways and scraping out the seeds with a spoon. Place the butternut squash halves into a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle over a good pinch of salt and pepper. Add 5-6 crushed garlic cloves underneath the butternut squash. Roast in the oven for 20 mins until starting to soften.
- Whilst the squash is cooking you can being to prepare the tomato sauce. Peel and finely chop 2 garlic cloves. Add the garlic cloves to a sauce pan with a a good glug of olive oil, about 3 tbsp, and leave on a low heat to soften for about 5 mins. Add in the tin of chopped tomatoes along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Leave the sauce to simmer very gently for about 1 hour until thick. Once cooked, taste and adjust seasoning to taste.
- After 20 mins remove the butternut squash from the oven and when cool enough to handle, transfer the squash halves to a board and thinly slice making sure not to cut all the way through the squash. It helps to put two wooden spoons either side of the squash to prevent you cutting all the way through. Place back into the oven and continue to roast for another hour or until cooked all the way through and slightly crispy around the edges.
- Whilst the squash is cooking, prepare the pesto. Blend the broccoli stalks (if using) in a food processor for a couple of seconds until they are broken down and shredded. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until there are no large chunks and all the ingredients have been incorporated. You may need to add more olive oil to loosen up the pesto slightly if it is still too thick after blending.
- To serve, spread half of the tomato sauce onto a plate, placing the squash over the top. Sprinkle a pinch of chilli flakes over the top, drizzle with pesto, coriander leaves, salt and pepper.
