Roast squash with lemongrass, peanut and lime
For the past few weeks, squashes have been arriving in our veg box every Wednesday. Their shapes and colours are never the same: last week it was a squat, lacy-edged off-white pattypan and a cricket ball-sized acorn squash, dark and shiny on the outside and a deep pumpkin pie orange within. The previous week, there was a turban squash – green– and orange-striped and shaped like a cottage loaf – and a small, striped and pale-fleshed delicata. These squashes floor a lot of cooks who, unsure how to approach their gnarly curves, or don’t know if their skin is edible, second guess how long to cook them for.
I eat this with lime-dressed buckwheat noodles or brown rice.
- Duration
- Difficulty
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the squash:
- 2 butternut squash
- 5 tbsp olive or coconut oil
- 2 tbsp coriander seeds
- 3 sticks lemongrass, finely chopped
- 3 red chillies, roughly chopped
- 4 limes
- sea salt
For the sauce:
- A thumb of ginger, peeled
- 250ml thick Greek or coconut yoghurt
- 150g roasted unsalted peanuts
- A large bunch of coriander, leaves picked
Prep the squash
Set the oven to 200C/400F/gas 6. If your squash is a butternut or thin-skinned variety, there is no need to peel it. Halve it, scoop out the seeds and cut into thick slices or boats. Lay them on a tray and drizzle with oil.
Crush the spices
Bash the coriander seeds in a pestle and mortar. Add half the chopped lemongrass and bash again to break it down a little. Scatter this mixture over the squash with a good pinch of salt, and half of the chopped chilli.
Prep the limes
Use a fine grater to zest 2 of the limes over the top of the pumpkin, then cut the two limes in half and squeeze the juice over the pumpkin. Toss everything together and put the lot into the hot oven for 45 minutes, or until the squash is golden.
Make the sauce
Put the reserved lemongrass into a bowl with the zest and juice of the 2 remaining limes, finely grate in the ginger, add the yoghurt and mix well.
Serve
Once the squash is roasted perfectly, lay it on a serving platter, sprinkle over the peanuts and coriander leaves and serve the sauce on the side for spooning over.
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