Stuffed squash with homemade red pesto / Provolone Dolce topping

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Provolone Dolce is a semi-hard mild Italian cheese with a delicious flavour I would liken to a creamy edam which can be a substitute if you cannot find this cheese ( I got mine from Lidls).





Serves 2


Prepare:


Tail and rinse 12 brussels sprouts, place in a baking dish. Brush with oil and a sprinkling of dried paprika.





Peel 1 medium white and sweet potato and cut into thick chips (none of those skinny versions please). Peel 1 small white onion. Put both in the same baking dish. Brush with oil and a sprinkling of dried thyme.





Scrub the outside of a medium yellow squash. Cut the knobbly bit from the bottom to allow a ‘sit’ position and half the squash into 2 equal portion sizes through the centre. Remove the squash seeds and pith to leave cavities in the squash.





Put the seeds in a small baking dish in one layer brush with oil and add a sprinkling of dried thyme.





Brush the squash with oil inside and out and place on a baking dish centre uppermost and bake in a preheated oven 200 C / 180 fan / Gas 4 / 350F for 35 minutes. Also put the sprouts and potato baking dishes in the oven.





Put the dish containing the squash seeds in the oven at the last 5 minutes cooking time to roast.





Meantime half a leek, rinse any debris from it and dice. Grate a small carrot and put both into a small saucepan with 1tsp oil. Stir in the saucepan for 1 minute on high heat.





Add 2 tomatoes from a tin of peeled plum tomatoes along with 6tbsp of the tomato juice from the can. Roughly snip the tomatoes with a pair of scissors. Sprinkle with white pepper. Bring to the boil then stir in 4tbsp of mixed quinoa. Lower heat to a simmer and cook with a lid on for 15 minutes (ie to coincide with the completion of the 35 minutes squash bake).





Meantime make the red pesto:


Blitz for 10 seconds (I use 600 watt hand blender over it’s air tight jug fitment):


1 peeled garlic clove. 1tbsp red bell pepper, 2 roughly chopped sundried tomatoes, roughly chopped 2tbsp fresh basil, grated 1tbsp parmesan, 1tbsp pine nuts (or walnuts), half tsp lemon juice, half a chopped red chilli, 1tbsp extra virgin rapeseed oil, pinch / salt pepper.





When the squash has reached 35 minutes cooking time remove it from the oven and fill the cavities with quinoa mixture. Top each with half the red pesto, 1tbsp chopped basil and shavings of Provolone Dolce cheese then return to the oven for another ten minutes before serving with an extra topping of roasted squash seeds which will have remained in the oven until the complete end of the cooking time.
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Next day fry up

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If you’ve no one to share the above dish with. Store the remainder overnight in the fridge and simply fry the next day.



Cut the squash into 4 steak sized pieces. Use 2 and freeze the other two for future cooking in the same way.



Use med / high heat and 1 tbsp oil in a shallow fry pan. Put the squash in the centre of the pan.



I retained some brussels sprouts and added 2 baby sweetcorn and some sugar snap peas and placed them evenly around the squash.



Leave to fry for 3 minutes, turn everything over and fry another 3 minutes.



Serve including the gnarly bits in the fry pan with squash seeds as a topping.

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Favourites:
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One pan Ostrich and mushroom orzo

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Stuffed sweet long pointed red peppers with herby greens

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Steamed sweet potato and dill crab cakes

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Turkey Shepherd’s pie with a kick

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(Chicken) Meatloaf

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Scallops, chorizo with white kidney beans

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One of my favourite poems:

Heavenly Autumn wheel by Rosemary Ditchburn

Latest post in my ‘Spaniel quotes for life’ blog - If the only prayer you say in your entire life is 'thank you' , it will be enough