Butternut is a healthy, yummy and affordable side dish, but surely there are other ways to serve them than cooked up and mashed?
Here’s some out-of-the-ordinary ideas for your most trusted Sunday lunch side-dish:
Roasted squash
Slice a butternut into 3cm half moons and coat the pieces with olive oil.
Arrange them on a baking sheet and season with salt, pepper, fresh thyme sprigs and a few dots of butter.
Bake in the oven at 200°C, turning them halfway, until the butternut is soft with caramelised brown edges.
Garlic butter roasted butternut squash
Cut the butternut lengthwise and remove skin and seeds.
Brush with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Roast at 215°C for about 20 minutes, remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Using a sharp knife, cut slits 3mm apart (not all the way through).
Brush generously with a mixture of cajun, garlic and melted butter.
Put it back in the oven and roast for about half an hour, basting the butternut with the cooking juice every 10 minutes.
Serve with fresh chopped parsley and a sprinkle of kosher salt.
Butternut with feta and chilli filling
Cut 2 butternuts in half and remove the seeds.
Scoop out some of the flesh, leaving a 1cm border and chop roughly.
Place in a roasting tray, drizzle with olive oil and roast (200°C) for 40 minutes until tender.
Meanwhile, saute 2 large red onions and chopped butternut until golden. Add 4 cloves garlic and saute for another 3 minutes.
Spoon the mix into the butternut cavities, scatter with 200g crumbled feta cheese, 50g pine nuts and finely chopped chilli.
Season with salt and pepper and roast for another 10 minutes until the pine nuts are golden.
Scatter fresh mint leaves over the butternuts just before serving.
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