Roast butternut squash, sprouts and Parmesan cream

Serves: 4
Course: Side Dish
Cooking Time: 1 hr 30 mins
Ingredients
  • 1 butternut squash, halved and deseeded
  • Drizzle of olive oil
  • 300g Brussels sprouts, trimmed
  • 250ml cream
  • 80g Parmesan, finely grated
  • ½ a vegetable stock cube
  • 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
  • A few sprigs of fresh thyme
  • A squeeze of lemon
  • Salt and pepper

1 Heat your oven to 180 degrees, or equivalent. Score the flesh side of the squash 1cm deep.

2 Put the two halves, cut side up, on a roasting tray, then drizzle with the olive oil.

3 Season the squash with salt and pepper and scatter some fresh thyme leaves over the top, cover with foil and roast for 90 minutes, until the squash is soft and tender, removing the foil for the last 30 minutes, to allow it to colour. (When it is cooked, you can keep it warm or reheat it to serve).

4 Bring a pot of lightly salted water to the boil and cook the sprouts for three or four minutes, until just tender.

5 Drain the sprouts, refresh them in iced water until cold, then set aside.

6 For the sauce, bring the cream to a gentle simmer in a medium-sized pot, add the garlic and the half stock cube, and reduce by a third.

7 Whisk in most of the Parmesan, add the lemon juice, season, then set aside.

8 To serve, warm the sprouts gently in the Parmesan cream, spoon the mixture into the cavity of the squash and around the plate, then dust with the remaining Parmesan and a few sprigs of thyme.

Paul Flynn

Paul Flynn

Paul Flynn is a chef, restaurateur and contributor to The Irish Times. He and his wife, Máire, run the Tannery restaurant and cookery school in Dungarvan, Co Waterford