Pure comfort in a deliciously different gratin

This dish is pure comfort food. It’s a gorgeous gratin with chicken or pork and a lovely alternative to the usual potato gratin. The sweetness of the squash is really great with the apple and it makes the most of seasonal produce. Some grated Gruyère or mature cheddar is delicious sprinkled between the sliced vegetables.This gratin can be made the day before and stored in the fridge. Any leftovers reheat well but I usually blitz it into a smooth creamy soup with some extra stock. I sometimes top this with a mixture of buttered breadcrumbs & thyme. The crisp topping makes it even richer. One of my mothers tricks, or kitchen hacks as they’re now called, was to crush cheese and onion Tayto crisps in the bag and then crumble them over the top of her lasagna for the final 10 minutes in the oven. We loved it as kids! That crunch and flavour was delicious.

Butternut Squash are well worth picking up on the weekly shop as they store well and can happily sit in a cool dark place for a month or two. I used to mainly use butternut squash in soup. With a little ginger and coconut milk it’s delicious. Butternut is a great addition to roasted vegetables and brings some welcome colour. Yotam Ottolenghi roasts the squash then drizzles it with garlic laced yogurt and scatters basil leaves and toasted pumpkin seeds over the top. It’s a gorgeous simple salad and we’ve had it as a main course or with roast lamb or chicken many a time. Real fuss-free food. I love pureeing squash with butter and a little cinnamon, then serve in bowls with venison or herb pork sausages. It’s a really warming vegetarian main on cold winters nights in bowls with caramelised red onion and some cold crumbled feta. It makes a great addition to curries and stews, adding a distinctive sweet nuttiness.

I sometimes just roast the squash in cubes or slices when I have the oven on cooking something else. Roast squash is really handy to have in the fridge for quick salads or folding through risotto or pasta. It’s lovely added to hummus with a little pomegranate molasses drizzled over the top to balance it’s sweetness. Toasted hazelnuts pair really well with it too. I find the easiest way to peel a squash is to keep it whole and use a Y peeler to remove all of the skin. Slice off the base and top then cut in half. I usually use a spoon to scoop out all the seeds. You can keep the skin on if roasting for salads or just remove the skin once cooked. Butternut is brilliantly versatile and definitely a gourd to have at hand.

Butternut, Apple & Thyme Gratin

Serves 6

1 butternut squash

1 large onion

1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed

2 eating apples

100ml cream

250ml stock (chicken or vegetable)

Salt & black pepper

4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 220C.

Mix the garlic with the milk and stock.

Peel the squash then cut in half and scoop out the seeds, slice thinly. Use a mandolin or food processor if you have one. Halve and slice the onions thinly too. Place in a large mixing bowl. Peel and thinly slice the apples. Add the apple to the squash. Season with salt and pepper and mix everything together gently. Place half the slices into a large buttered oven-proof dish. Pour over half the stock mix. Scatter with half the thyme. Top with the remaining slices and pour over the stock.

Cover the dish with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for a further 15 to 20 minutes, scattering over the remaining thyme for the final five minutes. Leave to rest for five minutes before serving.