The Food Gatherer's Note: I love this River Cottage recipe - it's a perfect supper dish with minimal effort and the combination of sweetness of the squash and honey contrasted, against the saltiness of the cheese and earthy nuts and thyme is a winner. - Emma :)
Stuffed Butternut Squash
Ingredients:
1 large butternut squash (about 1.5kg) or 2 small ones
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
About 50g unsalted butter
A little rapeseed or olive oil
75g walnuts, lightly toasted and very coarsely chopped
200g blue cheese or a crumbly goats cheese, crumbled into small lumps
2 tsp chopped thyme
1 tbsp runny honey
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To Prepare:
Make sure the outside of the squash is scrubbed clean. Cut the squash in half length-ways and scoop out the seeds and soft fibres. Put in a roasting dish, add the chopped garlic and a nut of butter to each cavity, then brush with a little oil and season well.
Place in an oven preheated to 190°C/Gas Mark 5 and bake for ¾-1 hour, until the flesh feels very tender when pierced with the tip of a knife.
Scoop the soft flesh and all the buttery, garlicky juices out into a bowl, leaving a 1cm thick layer of flesh still attached to the skin, so the squash holds its shape.
Roughly mash the flesh. Keep back a few pieces of walnut and a little of the cheese, then fold the remaining walnuts and cheese into the soft squash, along with the thyme and some more salt and pepper.