Powerfood Dinner Recipe: Healthy Stuffed Butternut Squash

This is a well-balanced meal with protein (quinoa), tomatoes (reduces risk of getting breast cancer-benefits of tomatoes are discussed in my previous post), olives (healthy fats) and the butternut squash  which is antioxidant-rich in vitamin C, has anti-inflammatory effects because of its high antioxidant content and can reduce risk of inflammation-related disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and asthma.

Although it looks like a big portion, surprisingly it's the right amount to eat for dinner- tasty too!

Healthy Stuffed Butternut Squash

 Serves 3

Ingredients

• Marinara sauce: ingredients and method are in my pizza post
• 2 butternut squash (I had 1 small 1 large)
• Merchant Gourmet Red and White Quinoa, ready made
• Asda pimento olives and iberico cheese pot, chopped,
• Feta cheese, as much as you desire, chopped
• Greek yoghurt, to top
• Spring opinions, to garnish
• Lettuce and cucumber, chopped

Method
Wash the skins of the squash and prick with a knife all around and place into a microwave. I cooked them one at a time- the smaller squash took around 5-6 minutes on a high heat and the larger one took 10-12 minutes. Half way through the cooking time turn the squash around, please handle carefully and with a teacloth so you don't hurt yourself. The squash is cooked when all the skin is a browny colour and where a knife goes through the skin and flesh easily, see below:

Whilst you are waiting for the butternut squash to cook make the marinara sauce, you can either make it fresh or if you have stored it in your fridge I would say to use around 2-2.5 cups of the sauce in the filling mixture. I then chopped around 10 pimento stuffed olives and around 6 cubes of iberico cheese (purchased from Asda, see below) and placed in another bowl whilst the larger butternut squash was cooking.

To make the filling mixture, I cut the butternut squash in half and scooped out flesh with a fork ensuring that I left a 1cm border around the squash and that it was not fully scooped out from the bottom (see below). I put the squash scoopings into the chopped cheese and olives from earlier.

Place the squash on grease proof paper (skin side up), brush on olive oil, shake some black pepper and put into a preheated oven at 180°C.

Whilst the skin is crispening (this will take around ten minutes), we are looking for a golden colour here, mix the marinara sauce, the cheese, half the packet of quinoa and olives.

When the skin is golden take the tray out and turn the squash over, fill the squash with the mixture and place whole olives on the top along with the chopped feta, cook for a further 10 minutes until the cheese is crispy and golden, serve with a dollop of Greek yoghurt, chopped spring onions and salad.

 

I reserved one half of the big squash to make gnocchi which will be published a couple of day!!

I hope you enjoyed this post. I would love to see your creations. Don't forget to tag #Basibeauty so I can see them!

Kimren xo