Oven roasted butternut squash with cherry tomatoes

This was one of the most delicious and guilt free dinners I remember having in a long time. With only a handful of fresh, natural ingredients, when cooked right this will make you wonder why you ever looked twice at a baked potato, or even sweet potato. The trick to getting the flesh of the squash beautifully sweet and tender and cooked through is to steam it beforehand; it cuts the oven time in half, ensures an even cook and means you can put everything in the oven at once and it’ll be ready together, as opposed to finding your squash raw in the middle, or your tomatoes burnt into little black inedible biscuits, or if you’re really unlucky, both.

The flesh of the squash has a slightly sweet tinge to its taste, which goes well with strong flavours such as tomato, thyme, lemon and garlic, or warm spices for an eastern twist. If you wanted to change this dish up I would steer clear of more subtle, creamier flavours as the dish wouldn’t be savoury enough, with nothing to cut through the mild sweetness.

Ingredients – serves 2
One whole, large butternut squash, halved and deseeded
1 medium sized leek, sliced (sub: bunch of spring onions /scallions)
1 punnet (about 300g) cherry tomatoes of choice – good quality ones please
2 tsp dried oregano or thyme
1/8 tsp dried garlic powder
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt & pepper
Optional – shaved parmesan or hard cheese to top

1. Steam the squash. You can do this in a steamer on the hob, or in the microwave like we did. I put it in a large bowl, covered in cling film which I pierced a couple of times. About 10 minutes later the whole thing should be soft and squishy on the outside, with possibly a little bit of uncooked flesh in the very centre if your two halves were touching. This is alright. Any more than 1/4 uncooked and you’ll need to steam for longer.
2. Arrange the two halves in an ovenproof dish, open as shown. Sprinkle around the leeks, then tomatoes, then drizzle on the olive oil and herbs/ garlic. Season with salt & pepper then bake in the oven at 200 degrees Celsius  for about half an hour.
3. Your dish is ready when everything is cooked, soft, golden looking and the tomatoes have burst and look delicious. Remove from the oven, top with cheese and serve immediately.
Enjoy!

Whole baked Camembert with tomatoes

This is one of the best comfort foods I know… A whole, warm ball of joy filled with the best thing you can imagine – melted cheese! It’s like a fondue all by itself, and that’s exactly how we eat it, with lots of freshly baked crusty bread and roasted tomatoes to dip into it.  Need I add, like almost every recipe here, this is ridiculously easy. Make this. Trust me – you won’t regret it.

Just look at all that deliciousness oozing out

Ingredients – serves 2
1 small, whole Camembert cheese
Same ingredients as 1 quantity of roasted baby tomatoes
2 small part baked baguettes, or crusty bread of choice

1. Unwrap the cheese and put it in the centre of an ovenproof dish. Arrange the tomatoes around it then follow the preparation as for the roasted baby tomatoes post (link above).
2. Place in the oven at 200 degrees C (no need to preheat) for about 15 minutes, then place the part baked baguettes in the oven and continue baking for another 10 minutes
3. Remove from the oven and serve 🙂

Roasted baby tomatoes with herbs & garlic

This is one of my favourite sides ever. You can add it to almost any meal or enjoy it on its own with some bread and a little cheese. The rich, sweetness of the tomatoes comes out in the roasting, and the insta-marinade forms an amazing sauce with the juices- one so great you could just dip bread into it and eat it alone.  This is my go-to side for any roasted meat, chicken or fish and, incidentally, what I’m having for supper tonight 🙂 super easy, super healthy, super delicious… Win, win, win!

Ingredients – serves 2

1 punnet good quality small tomatoes of choice – baby plum or vine tomatoes are best but cherry tomatoes and others work too (don’t use regular /salad ones as they’re not as flavoursome and tend to be a little watery)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp sugar or 2 tsp agave or honey
1 tbsp dried oregano or 2tbsp fresh (the whole stalks are amazing when roasted – crispy, spicy, yummy leaves you can eat off the stick )
Optional – 1 tsp seasoning of choice eg. Cajun or pasta seasoning

1. Prepare a roasting pan or ovenproof dish. Place the tomatoes in the bottom of it. Drizzle the olive oil over the top, then honey or agave if using, then dry seasonings and finally herbs.
2. Roast in the oven at 200 degrees C for about 20 mins until the tomatoes have popped and their delicious juices have run out
3. Serve as a side or with your choice of bread. Dig in! 🙂