Stuffed butternut squash

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned a delicious stuffed butternut squash dish. I also promised to share the recipe.  This meal is very easy and filling, but the prep is a little long, so I recommend making this when you are in the mood for a slow evening.  It is perfect for a dinner party and is also meatless – so an excellent vegetarian dinner idea! Tip: To shorten the prep, make the quinoa ahead of time!

Stuffed butternut squash

Ingredients

• 1 medium butternut squash
• olive oil
• pinch dried oregano
• 1 cup quinoa (cooked) (this will take about 20 mins to cook – make sure to budget this into your time!)
• 1 small carrot , grated
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 box of cherry or grape tomatoes, chopped in half
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• Parmesan cheese for sprinkling at the end (optional)

Instructions

Butternut squash and stuffing

1. Preheat the oven to 200C.  Cut the butternut squash in half (you may need to microwave it for a minute or two in order to be able to do this) and scoop out the seeds.

2. Place both halves on the baking tray, drizzle with a little olive oil and season with salt, pepper and dried oregano.  Cook for 40 minutes.  Take out of the oven, add the chopped peppers and tomatoes to the tray and cook for another 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, mix the quinoa with the carrots, onions and dressing  (see instructions below).

4. Take the tray out of the oven and transfer the peppers and tomatoes to the stuffing mix.

5. Stir together and spoon the filling into the butternut squash. You can also scoop out some of the squash and mix it in with the stuffing before adding the stuffing to the squahs.  Return to the oven for 10 minutes.

6. Sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top (optional) and serve.

Dressing

1. Pour the juice of one lemon into a cup.

2. Add enough olive oil that it is about equal to the amount of lemon juice.

3. Crush 2 garlic cloves and mix into the lemon/olive oil mix.

4. Add some salt to taste.