A lovely way to make the most of seasonal squash, this roasted squash recipe brings together sweet, tender squash, a smooth squash purée and a punchy dressing of toasted walnuts, chilli, shallots and fresh herbs. It's a simple, seasonal dish that lets the ingredients do the talking, with plenty of flavour and a little warmth from the chilli.
Ingredients
For the squash
Garden squash (orange-fleshed), cut into quarters
Thyme
Garlic
Rapeseed oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable stock, for the purée
For the walnut dressing
Walnuts
Dried chilli, to taste
Shallots, finely diced
Garlic, finely grated
Fresh thyme, picked and chopped
Rapeseed oil
Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar
Lemon zest and juice
Fresh parsley, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. Make the squash purée
Cut some of the squash into chunks, removing the skin. Steam-roast at 180°C with 50% moisture until tender. Scoop out the flesh and blitz with a little vegetable stock until smooth. Season to taste and set aside.
2. Roast the squash
Cut the remaining garden squash into quarters. Toss with a little rapeseed oil, thyme, garlic and seasoning. Roast until just tender and lightly golden.
3. Toast the walnuts
Toss the walnuts with a little rapeseed oil and sea salt. Toast for 3–6 minutes until golden, keeping an eye on them so they don't catch. Leave to cool, then roughly chop.
4. Make the dressing
Gently sweat the diced shallots, chopped thyme, dried chilli and grated garlic in rapeseed oil until softened. Add the lemon zest and juice, along with the Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar, and season to taste.
Stir the shallot dressing through the toasted walnuts, then add the chopped parsley and any remaining fresh herbs.
5. Bring it all together
To serve, spread a generous spoonful of squash purée across each plate. Warm the roasted squash in the oven for around 3 minutes, then arrange on top of the purée.
Spoon over the walnut dressing, making sure each plate gets plenty of those crunchy walnuts, softened shallots and fresh herbs. Finish with a little extra parsley and serve while warm.
A little seasonal cooking, straight from the garden to the plate.
Pop into a PIG this autumn and give our seasonal squash a try, with plenty of fresh flavours straight from the Kitchen Garden.