ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND ENDIVE WITH PARMA HAM, RICOTTA AND MINT SALAD

For those of you who have watched my little webisode on the video, I thought it might be helpful to have the actual recipe to follow for quantities and recipe scrap books.

For those of you who haven’t seen the vids, take a look at the Sophie Cooks’s page on this website. You see that its a very simple recipe to follow, looks beautiful and is perfect for a light lunch or dinner. I personally love to serve this with some grilled fish, like a Swordfish and Tuna steak, a good squeeze of lemon and serve the salad warm as i do in the videos.

Enjoy and don’t forget to leave a comment or two and request which recipes you might like me to cook next week.

Preheat your oven to 180oc/Gas mark 4

Serves 2-3 as a starter or light lunch

INGREDIENTS

300g Butternut Sqaush, unpeeled and cut into thin wedges

1 tsp harrisa powder or an equivalent dried spice mix

1 tsp sumac (optional)

2 heads of endive, cut into ¼’s

4 cloves of garlic, whole

2 springs of thyme

6 slices parma ham

100g ricotta cheese

½ fresh, red chilli, finelly chopped

50g toasted pine nuts

45g lambs lettuce

2 springs fresh mint, picked and torn

Extra oil for cooking

FOR THE DRESSING

1.5 heaped tsp Dijon mustard1 tsp runny honey

Juice 1 lemon

70mls olive oil

METHOD

1.Prepare your squash by topping and tailing, cutting in half, length ways and removing the seeds using a spoon.Cut the squash into wedges about 1cm thick and 4 inches long.

2.Place the butternut squash wedges on to a baking tray and season with salt, pepper, the spice mix, sumac, the unpeeled garlic cloves a few springs of thyme and 2 tbsp of olive oil.Place into the hot oven for 10 minutes while you cut your endive into ¼’s and make your dressing.

3.Find a small, clean jam jar and add to it the Dijon mustard, honey, lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper. Shake well to emulsify.

4.Once the squash has had 10 minutes, remove from the oven and scatter the endive onto the tray. Drizzle each ¼ with a little of the dressing and place back into the oven for a further 10 minutes.

5.Once cooked, remove the tray and place its contents onto a large platter, whilst still warm.Tear over the Parma ham and spoon on some ricotta.

6.Dress you lambs lettuce with a little more of the dressing and scatter over the platter. Now do the same with the chilli, the toasted pine nuts and the torn mint leaves.

7.Drizzle with a final helping of dressing, season with pepper and serve.