Our weekdays are fairly hectic with all of us working from home. Most mornings turn out to be busy with either my workshops or recipe trials for future ones. Yes busy is good, but then the family has to eat too! Easy lunch ideas are what I aim for most days without the monotonous repertoire of soup and sandwiches.

I had been browsing for some quick and easy recipes,when I stumbled upon this one for a Hasselback Butternut Squash.I have made hasselback potatoes often which are essentially a swedish tradition. The squash on the other hand has taken various avatars, in soups and salads, but never really quite in this form.

I have adapted this slightly from Nourishing Amy. To be quite honest I was totally blown away by her images and the wonderful presentation. Now when I went through Amy’s blog post I got really excited as I had a medium butternut squash that was calling to be made just this way.

This recipe is just so quick and easy. The important tip for this recipe is to try not to cut the squash too deep else the slices will fall apart. Also one needs to try not to slice too close either.

So yes a little bit of effort is required, but so well worth it!

While butternut squash is perfect for fall and thanksgiving, they are quite easily available right now through spring and summer and work great in this recipe. It’s just such a great way to enjoy butternut squash. The roasting elevates the flavours supremely and gives the squash a wonderful caramelized glaze.

We enjoyed this as a warm salad as I decided to cut them up in chunks and drizzled some more warm melted butter and sprinkled some crumbled feta cheese and served it on a bed of baby spinach. You may like to serve it as a side or a main course too.

I just loved the way the hasselback butternut squash baked up and turned out to be a delicious and visual treat. This is a great way of making up root vegetables and incorporating some healthy and nutritious goodness into one’s diet Best of all this squash is available in abundance all year round and all you need are a few pantry staples and some patience with your knife skills.

Go ahead and bake this one up today as it’s sure to brighten up your weekday lunch!

For This Recipe You Will Need

• Medium Butternut Squash
• Few Cloves Of Garlic
• Butter
• Dried Oregano
• Salt & Pepper
• Crumbled Feta (optional)
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Green Olives
• Baby Spinach

How To Prep For This Recipe

• Wash the squash well
• Peel The Squash
• Slit into two down the middle
• Scoop out all the seeds and fibrous parts
• Carefully make slits across the squash ensuring these are not too close
• Drizzle melted butter
• Stuff the slit with roughly chopped garlic and mixed herbs

Substitutions

• Sweet Potatoes
• Potatoes
• Beetroots

Hasselback Butternut Squash l Roasted garlic l Crumbled Feta l Cherry Tomatoes 

This just came out of the oven for an easy lunch this afternoon. And is a riot of flavours! The butter browns the squash to a wonderful crispness! While this makes a great side, I served this for lunch with a mixed green salad and was so satiating.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium butternut squash
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Salt and pepper to season
• 1 teaspoon Mixed herbs
• 2-3 pods garlic (smashed)
• Few olives and cherry tomatoes (for garnish)
• Feta cheese (for garnish)

Directions:

1.Peel the squash and slice into half and remove the seeds and fiber.

2.With a sharp knife make thin slits across the squash . Ensure you do not cut right to he bottom of the squash.

3.Place on a baking tray with parchment paper.

4.Drizzle with the melted butter, chopped garlic,salt and pepper..sprinkle mixed herbs. Ensure you rub all the ingredients into the crevices of the butternut squash.

5.Bake at 400F for 45-50 minutes.

6. Cube the butternut squash or slice into slivers. drizzle some more melted butter and garnish with crumbled feta cheese, olives and cherry tomatoes.