Stuffed Butternut Squash

Ingredients

1 large
(or 2 small)		 butternut squash (about 1.5 kg)
50 g butter
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
200 g Feta cheese
1 tbsp basil leaves, shredded
salt and pepper
olive oil

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 190°C.
  2. Make sure the outside of the squash is scrubbed clean. Cut the squash in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds and soft fibres.
  3. Put in an ovenproof dish, put a little chopped garlic and a small nut of butter in each cavity, brush with olive oil and season well.
  4. Bake for about an hour, until the flesh feels very tender when pierced with the tip of a knife.
  5. Carefully scoop out the soft flesh, and the buttery, garlicky juices, 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.
  6. Fold the feta and basil into the soft squash, along with some more salt and pepper.
  7. Spoon the filling back into the two empty squash halves, return the squashes to the oven.
  8. Bake for a further 15 minutes before serving.

Cypriot Chicken

A very quick and simple yet tasty recipe.

Ingredients

small bunch of parsley
small bunch of basil
8 sun-dried tomatoes (from a jar)
2 or 3 garlic cloves
100 g feta cheese
zest from 1 lemon
4 chicken breasts
4 sprigs of rosemary
olive oil for cooking

Technique

Chop the herbs and sun-dried tomatoes with a little of their oil, on a board.  Add the crushed garlic, feta and lemon zest.  Mix well.

Make a pocket in each of the chicken breasts.  Stuff each pocket with a quarter of the stuffing mix.  Spear shut with the rosemary sprigs.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan.  When hot, put in the chicken breasts.  Cover lightly with greaseproof paper lightly scrunched around.  When golden, turn and cook the other side.

Cut into slices and serve.

Smoky Beans with Basil and Bacon

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil for cooking
1 small onion finely chopped
2 rasher smoked back bacon
420 g can canellini beans rinsed and drained
2 large tomatoes roughly chopped
6 large basil leaves
Tabasco sauce

cheddar cheese or similar grated

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the bacon until golden and crisp.  Remove from the pan, leaving the oil.
  2. Add the finely chopped onion.  Stir and soften for about 5 mins.
  3. Add the tomatoes and beans.  Stir well and cook for another few minutes until the tomatoes soften.
  4. Shred the basil and add to the pan along with a few drops of Tabasco, to taste.

Serve on hot buttered toast with the bacon and top with the grated cheese.