Butternut squash with orange oil and burnt honey
This dish is one for the autumn months, the sunset shades of squash, orange and honey adding warmth to your table. Blitzing olive oil with orange peel is a quick way to infuse the oil used here without having to heat it up or wait very long. Trust us when we say that what makes this dish so memorable is the added details.
Recipe from OTK Shelf Love
Serving size
4 people
Ingredients
1 butternut squash (1.1kg), peeled, halved lengthways, deseeded and then cut into 1cm thick half-moons (900g)
1 tbsp olive oil
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1½ tbsp runny honey
1½ tsp cider vinegar
40g pecorino, thinly sliced into ¼cm-thick shards
1½ tbsp pickd oregano leaves, with some stem attached
20g pumpkin seeds, toasted
salt and black pepper
Orange infused oil:
2 oranges
45ml olive oil
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 240°C fan or as high as your oven can go.
2. For the infused oil, finely shave the orange peel into strips, giving you 15g of peel (avoiding any pith). Roughly chop the peel, then transfer to the small bowl of a food processor. Add the oil and blitz for 1 minute, or until the peel is finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl and leave to infuse for 20–60 minutes. Strain through a sieve into a separate bowl, discarding the solids.
3. Segment both the peeled oranges; do this over a sieve set over a bowl to catch the juice. Set aside the segments and 1 tablespoon of the collected juice for the dressing.
4. Put the butternut squash, olive oil, nutmeg, ½ teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper into a large bowl, tossing to combine. Divide between two parchment-lined baking trays, spacing the pieces so that they’re not overlapping, and bake for 20–25 minutes, turning the pieces halfway through, until cooked through and nicely browned. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
5. Meanwhile, put the honey into a small frying pan on a medium-high heat. Bring to the boil, then cook for 2–3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the honey turns to a deep brown caramel. Remove from the heat and immediately stir in the orange segments, the 1 tablespoon of reserved juice and the vinegar. Set aside to cool slightly.
6. Arrange the butternut squash and pecorino on a large platter. Pour over the burnt honey dressing, and top with the oregano, pumpkin seeds and orange oil.
