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Roasted Butternut Squash and Honey Dip

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The great thing about Butternut Squash is that it’s so sweet, people often forget it’s a healthy vegetable. When it’s made into a dip like this, it’s brilliant to serve with raw Vegetables (slices of Pepper, Cucumber, Celery etc.), or even served warm with a Dinner.

Roasted Butternut Squash

To Serve 4
1 Large Butternut Squash, peeled
2 Sprigs Thyme
Pinch Maldon Sea Salt
Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1.2tsp Ground Cumin
3tbsp Honey
3tbsp Olive Oil

1. Heat an Oven to 180C.
2. Remove the peel from the Squash using a speed peeler – much easier and simpler than using a knife. Cut in half, then scoop out the seeds in the middle with a spoon. Cut into chunks about an inch across, and place on a baking tray.
3. Strip the Thyme Leaves from the stalk, then sprinkle over the Squash, along with the Black Pepper, Sea Salt and Cumin. Drizzle the Honey over the top, then the Olive Oil. Mix well.
4. Roast in the Oven for twenty to thirty minutes, , checking frequently to make sure the Honey doesn’t caramelise – if you see it changing, lower the heat slightly.
5. To check it’s ready, try to insert a knife into one of the pieces. If it goes through easily, it’s ready. Remove from the oven, and process in small amounts, before mixing together. If it’s too thick for your tastes, add a small amount of Olive Oil.

Serve fresh from the Processor, or leave to cool and serve as a dip.

Photo Courtesy of: Martin Cathrae

Garlic Chicken with Roast Pepper Puree

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A simple, easy to make dish, that’s got the ‘Wow!’ factor in the bucket load. The mixture of textures in the Puree makes it such a treat that you’ll be kicking yourself you haven’t tried it before. Combined with the fresh tastes of the Chicken, the Puree really makes this dish something special.
Pepper Puree
To Serve 4
4 Skinless Chicken Breasts
3 Garlic Cloves, peeled and Crushed
1tbsp Fresh Thyme, Chopped
6tbsp Olive Oil
1tbsp Clear Honey
1tbsp White Wine Vinegar
Salt and Pepper
3 Red Peppers, deseeded
2 Yellow Peppers, deseeded
2 Onions, peeled and Sliced
225g Plum Tomatoes, skinned and halved
2tsp Paprika
1tbsp Tomato Puree

1. Make some deep slits across the Chicken Breasts, and lay them in a large shallow, ovenproof dish. Mix the crushed Garlic and Chopped Thyme together, and rub into each Chicken Breast.
2. Mix two tablespoons of the Olive Oil with the Honey and White Wine Vinegar, and season to taste. Pour over the Chicken, and leave to marinate for two to three hours.
3. Drain the Chicken, saving the juices. Heat two tablespoons of Oil in a large plat bottomed pan, and place the Chicken breasts in slit-sides down, and fry quickly to seal in the flavours. Turn over, and cook for another minute. Transfer back to the Ovenproof dish with a slotted spoon. Heat the oven to 200C
4. Cut each of the Peppers into eight chunks, and place in a separate Ovenproof dish, along with the Onion and Tomatoes, before sprinkling with Paprika, and covering with the remaining Oil.
5. Bake the Vegetables for thirty minutes on a high shelf, until they are lightly charred. Place the Chicken on a lower shelf, and bake both for thirty more minutes.
6. Keep back six pieces of Red Pepper, and six pieces of Yellow Pepper, and place the rest in a food processor, along with the Onions and Tomatoes, and blend until nearly smooth. Heat through in a Saucepan, and mix in the Tomato Puree, and season to taste.
7. Spoon the Pepper Puree onto a plate, and place the cooked Chicken Breasts on top, and decorate with the remaining pieces of Pepper

Serve freshly cooked, with a range of warmed seasonal Vegetables, or Rice.

Photo Courtesy of: [puamelia]

Beef Ragout

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Based on a traditional North African dish, this Cous Cous based dish is full of vegetables, and is really simple to make. It’s also quite a fast dish to make, and doesn’t take much looking after.

Beef Ragout

It’s a great dish to have as a dinner when you’re in a rush, as you can easily prepare a lot of the vegetables in advance, or replace a lot of them with other seasonal vegetables – also you can replace with various roasted vegetables, and replace the Cous Cous with a range of sides – Gnocchi, Pasta, or Potaotoes are all great favourites

To Serve 4
1tbsp Oil
450g Beef, Minced or Diced
1 Garlic Clove, Crushed
1 Onion, Quartered
25g Plain Flour
150ml Dry White Wine
150ml Hot Beef Stock
2 Baby Turnips, Peeled and Diced
115g Swede, Peeled and Diced
2 Carrots, Peeled and Diced
2 Courgettes, Peeled and Diced
1tbsp Fresh Coriander, Chopped
1tsp Ground Coriander
225g Cous Cous
Salt and Pepper

1. Heat the Oil in a large Pan, and add the Beef. Fry for five minutes, before draining off three quarter of any juices in the pan.
2. Add the Garlic and Onion to the pan, and cook for a further three minutes.
3. Stir in the flour, and cook for another minute until thickened considerably. Add the Wine and Stock to the pan, and season to taste. Bring to the boil, and keep stirring.
4. Into the pan, add the Vegetables, along with the Fresh and Ground Coriander. Lower the heat, and cook for fifteen minutes with the lid on.
5. Whilst the Saucepan is simmering, place the Cous Cous in a large bowl, and cover with boiling water. Leave to stand for ten minutes, and then drain and place into a lined steamer or colander. Place the steamer (or colander) above the Saucepan. Steam for thirty more minutes, garnish with Coriander and serve.

Photo Courtesy of: Avlxyz

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

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There’s a whole heap of food and drink you can make from anything left over from Pumpkins. One example of a very healthy snack are these seeds. They’re very good for you, tasty, very easy to eat and extremely easy and fast to make. You can also mix and match different flavours by using various sweet and savoury spices – I’ve usually got a pot of these seeds roasted with Cinnamon and Nutmeg.


All you need is the seeds from as many pumpkins as you have.

1.  Rinse the seeds under cold water, picking out the pulp and skins. To make this easier, try to do it as soon as possible – the longer you leave it, the drier the pulp and skins get, making it harder to separate.

2.  Put a teaspoon of Oil on a baking sheet, and place the seeds in a single layer on the sheet. Add in any herbs and spices you’d like at this stage. Make sure that all of the seeds are completely covered in oil.

3.  Bake at 150 C/ 300 F for 15 minutes. Take out, stir and put back in for a further 10 minutes.

4.   Take out of the oven, leave to cool and then store in an air tight container. Try mixed in with a variety of different nuts, seeds and fruits.

Photo Courtesy of WordRidden