Ratatouille Stuffed Butternut Squash w/ a Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

It’s the fourth and final post in my Butternut Squash Series and I am excited to share this last one with you. This meal was actually a spur of the moment dish, as I wasn’t ‘feeling’ my original stuffed squash recipe, so although it may seem like a bit of a random combination, it works really well.

It may appear to have many components, techniques and cooking involved in this meal, but the beauty of it is that both the ratatouille and quinoa salad are easy to increase in volume, meaning you can cook once and eat multiple times and a multitude of ways. The ratatouille would be delicious served over pasta, and the quinoa salad is a stand-alone lunch option served with some fresh avocado.

I’m also letting you in on a family recipe today: Mum’s Ratatouille. Super simple, fresh and comforting. This celebrates the best of good quality ingredients, cooked well allowing the flavours of the vegetables to shine through.

Ratatouille Stuffed Butternut Squash w/ a Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
Serves 2 (without leftovers)

Ingredients:
½ – 1 large butternut squash, the bottom bit works best here, washed
Olive oil
1 avocado, de-stoned and sliced
1 large handful of rocket
Ratatouille:
½ white onion, small diced
1 red or yellow pepper, de-seeded and small diced
½ courgette, small diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tin chopped tomatoes
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp coconut honey, sugar, or maple
1 handful fresh basil, torn
Quinoa:
100g quinoa, cooked according to packet instructions
½ tin flageolet or white beans
1 large carrot, scrubbed and grated
10 pitted olives, sliced
1 tbsp capers, chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp coconut honey or maple
Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170Fan/190*C. Place the butternut squash onto a lined baking tray, drizzle over the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 45mins – 1hour until tender and starting to crisp. Remove from the oven and scoop out the seeds.

2. Meanwhile make the ratatouille. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the onion for 7 minutes until translucent. Add the pepper, courgette and garlic and stir to coat in the oil. Fry for 5 more minutes, adding a splash of water if starting to stick. Add the tinned tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, and coconut honey. Season to taste. Bring to the boil and leave to simmer, lid on, for 30 mins until thick. If it goes too thick then add a splash of water. Tear in the fresh basil just before serving.

3. Make the quinoa. Mix the lemon juice, olive oil, mustard and coconut honey in a small cup until smooth and add to a large bowl with the quinoa, beans, carrots, olives and capers. Stir well and season with salt and pepper.

4. Plate up! Top each plate with ½ of the rocket, followed by ½ of the Mediterranean quinoa and the butternut squash. Stuff the ratatouille inside the butternut squash and serve with avocado slices on the side.

5. All components will save well for a couple of days in the fridge, when kept separately. The ratatouille will freeze well, once fully cooled.

    

So that concludes the Butternut Squash Series – thank you so much for reading the posts and following my journey as I enjoy all that the orange vegetable has to offer. What are your thoughts on series of posts like this one? Is there anything you want to see, or a key ingredient you would like to feature? Let me know in the comments below. If you make this delicious meal, please tag me so I can see your creations. I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy.