Crispy parmesan squash with salsa verde butter beans

FREE TO READ: A recipe from my new book, Rough Patch

The pumpkins are over

I have eked them out, as I explained in last week’s post:

Pumpkin, kale & hazelnut galette

But now there is just half a Crown Prince in the bottom of the fridge waiting for the oven. And I will send it out with due ceremony by using it for this week’s recipe…

Which is one of the thirty-odd recipes in my new book, Rough Patch, out on 6th February (perhaps I mentioned it already?)

Stay tuned over publication week because I’ll be sharing more recipes and stories from the book.

Thank goodness the garden is asleep

Because publication month is busy! And apart from a therapeutic hour sowing broad beans into modules in the greenhouse, I’ve done nothing in the patch. I did dig up some long forgotten subterranean parsnips which was a welcome boon. Oh, and I set some Anya potatoes in an egg box to chit, but I’m not sure that counts as gardening.

Crispy Parmesan Squash with Salsa Verde Butter Beans

This recipe opens the October chapter of Rough Patch - an episode which sees me lost in a conference centre trying to discover the higher purpose of a margarine, sowing radishes for respite and discovering the joy of pumpkin growing. It is, like many of the recipes in the book, written more as a conversational guideline than a set of instructions.

To make supper for two, cut a small winter squash (an onion, kuri or Turk’s Turban squash, weighing roughly 500g, is the perfect size, but half a butternut squash will do the job too) into wedges and de-seed. Leave the skin on, assuming it’s not irretrievably gnarly.

Douse in a slug of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast on a baking tray in a hot oven (200°C) for 30 minutes or until just starting to char.

Grate a handful (50g) of Parmesan into a shallow bowl and, with asbestos hands, toss the wedges in the cheese, pressing them down so the cheese sticks and coats the flesh.

Turn the oven up to 210°C.

Return the wedges to the baking tray and roast for another 15 minutes, by which time the cheese will be crispy and irresistible.

While the squash cooks, heat a jar (not tin) of cooked butter beans (roughly 400g drained weight) in a saucepan with a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Once warm, stir in a tablespoon each of chopped parsley, mint, basil and chives, 4 chopped anchovies, a teaspoon of baby capers, a shake of garlic granules (retro, but they are just the ticket here, I promise) and, just before serving, a slug of red wine vinegar.

Tip the butter beans onto a platter, pile the crusty squash on top and arm your fellow eater with a hunk of bread for scooping.