Sunday, 20 September 2015

By the way...

My week began with a difference, on Monday morning, chatting to Bernie Keith on his weekday radio show on BBC Radio Northampton 9am – 12 noon (bernie.keith@bbc.co.uk) (not forgetting cuddles with his dog Riley). Bernie is the best, aided by his Producer Sarah Stratten – so lovely. I took a lunch box for them – after all it's rude not to take a small present when visiting. Bernie tasted whilst we were chatting and was very kind. Here's my latest recipe for what forms the base of the lunch box, which I thought I'd share with you.

Squashed!

1 Butternut squash, peeled and cut into small cubes
4 shallots, finely diced
2 tbsp oil (olive or rapeseed) & 1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
mixed with 2 tsps garlic paste
salt and black pepper
freshly grated nutmeg

Serves 4-6 depending on size of serving rings
or ramekins

Pre-heat oven 200c/180fan/Gas 6

Place the squash and the shallots in a non stick oven-proof tray, season with salt and black pepper and add the oil/Balsamic mixture covering thoroughly. Bake for 50 minutes (check after 25 minutes and turn so it won't catch) and cook until soft, grate a little nutmeg over the mixture and allow to cool.

You can decant into a sealed container and refrigerate until ready for use.

Two alternatives for serving – arrange in serving rings on a non-stick oven-proof tray and sprinkle with grated cheese of your choice, or, serve in ramekins and top with grated cheese.

Bake for 15/20 minutes – check after 15. Your cheese topping should be golden brown.


This recipe is tasty served hot or cold. Here are the combinations so far :

As the lunch box served cold, a good helping of Squashed! Top with slices of the slow cooked chicken referred to in “Monday chuck”.

Add fresh beetroot to roast with the butternut squash, peeled and diced to a similar size. As a guide a bunch of beetroot weighs approximately 700g – prepared it will give you approximately 450g ready to roast.

If you wanted a completely vegetarian supper, turn the recipe into a crumble using one of my famous foil trays for convenience! If you want a speed crumble for mid-week use a ready made stuffing or panko breadcrumbs to sprinkle over the vegetables and top with grated cheese.

I demonstrated both to my students in my most recent class and it went down a storm!

On Tuesday Sarah emailed saying, “Thank you so much – that dish was just amazing! We were still talking out it today! X”.

Thanks Bernie!


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