Butternut squash and goat’s cheese bake with pumpkin seeds
Even the most committed meateater will enjoy this delicious vegetarian gratin. You can prepare it an hour in advance (up to stage 5 below) and then put it in the oven 15 minutes before serving. Pumpkin seeds contain potent essential fats – omega-3 and omega-6 – as well as anti-microbial properties that help to protect the digestive tract.
Serves: 4 Prep: 10 minutes Cook: 45 minutes Ingredients
♦ 900g butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks ♦ Leaves stripped from a few sprigs of thyme ♦ 2tsp cumin seeds ♦ Black pepper ♦ 250ml vegetable stock ♦ 100ml half-fat crème fraîche ♦ 80g soft goat’s cheese, eg chèvre ♦ 2tbsp pumpkin seeds ♦ 4tbsp fresh breadcrumbs
Tomato sauce:
♦ 2tbsp olive oil ♦ 1 large onion, finely chopped ♦ 2 garlic cloves, crushed ♦ 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes ♦ 1tbsp tomato purée ♦ Drizzle of balsamic vinegar ♦ Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
1Preheat
the oven to 180°C. Arrange the squash in a large ovenproof dish and scatter over the thyme leaves and cumin seeds. Season with a little black pepper and pour the stock over the top. Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes until just tender but not soft. 2Meanwhile,
make the tomato sauce. Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the onion and garlic over a low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes until the onions are softened but not coloured. 3Stir
in the tomatoes and tomato purée and simmer gently for 10 minutes or so until the sauce reduces and becomes thick and pulpy. Add a good dash of balsamic vinegar to sweeten it, and season to taste with salt and pepper. 4Remove
the cooked squash from the oven and spoon the tomato sauce over and around it. Dot the top with spoonfuls of crème fraîche and goat’s cheese, then sprinkle with pumpkin seeds and breadcrumbs. 5Turn
up the oven to 200°C and cook for 15 minutes until the breadcrumbs are crisp and golden and the sauce is bubbling up. Serve hot or lukewarm with a crisp salad. Use swede, pumpkin, parsnips, sweet potato or even beetroot instead of squash. Spoonfuls of mascarpone would make a good creamy alternative to goat’s cheese.