Stuffed baby squash

Acorn squash works particularly well in this recipe, but any small variety will do. Alternatively, stuff a 1.5kg-2kg pumpkin and cook it for about 11/2hr, then slice it into thick wedges.

Serves: 4 Preparation time: 40 minutes Cooking time: 1 hour 20 minutes 1 vegetable stock cube

100g mixed basmati and wild rice 4 small squash

(about 500g-700g each)

50g butter

1 medium onion, chopped

50g toasted hazelnuts, chopped 1tbsp thyme leaves, chopped 50g-75g white Lancashire cheese, crumbled

1 Heat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4. Bring a pan of water to the boil, crumble in the stock cube and add the rice. Simmer for 10min. Drain and spread the rice on to a plate to allow it to cool quickly.

2 Slice the tops off the squashes and set aside as lids. Scoop out and discard the seeds and fibrous pulp. Cut away as much flesh as you can from inside each shell, leaving a wall 5mm thick. Roughly dice the flesh.

3 Meanwhile, melt the butter in a pan and gently cook the onion for

10min until softened. Add the squash flesh and cook for 10min. Tip into a large bowl to cool.

4 Add the nuts and thyme to the cooled onion and squash, along with the rice. Mix well and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir in the cheese.

5 Pile the mixture into the hollowed-out squash shells, cover with lids and place in a lightly oiled roasting dish. Bake for 45min-1hr until the shells are tender when pierced with a sharp knife.