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Baked butternut squash with bacon and chestnuts

I normally make a baked, stuffed butternut squash at Christmas time. This one is one of my family’s favourite because we can eat it as a side dish with Roast Duck or Goose or as a main meal during the festivities.. You can make it gluten-free by using  cooked rice  or gluten-free breadcrumbs.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Resting Time 4 hours
Total Time 2 hours
Servings: 6 people
Cuisine: Italian
Calories: 1234
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 butternut squash
  • 100 g smoked bacon lardons or pancetta
  • 1 sprig of celery
  • 1 red onion
  • 1 sprig of rosemary
  • 1-2 pinch of dried chilli flakes
  • 1 pinch of nutmeg
  • 1 egg slightly beaten
  • zest of 1 orange bio or unwaxed
  • 1 large handful of cooked chestnuts
  • ½ cup of breadcrumbs can be gluten-free
  • Olive oil salt and pepper

Method
 

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  2. Finely chop the celery and onion.Roughly chop the chestnuts.
  3. Cut the squash in half lengthwise, seeds were removed and scrape the flesh, leaving 2cm edge.
  4. Heat a spoonful of olive oil in a frying pan, add the bacon and cook until crisp, then add the chopped onion, celery, squash flesh and the rosemary leaves. Stir in the chilli flakes and nutmeg, then season with salt and pepper.
  5. Cook gently over low heat for about 5 minutes until the vegetables have softened.
  6. Turn off the heat, add the egg, orange zest, chestnuts and enough breadcrumbs to hold together the stuffing.
  7. Fill both squash halves, then put them together, forming the original, whole squash shape. Wrap in foil tightly then place it onto a baking sheet.
  8. Bake for about 90 minutes - it’s done when you can easily push a skewer through.
  9. Unwrap the squash and cut it into a 3cm thick slices. Serve warm with a salad or as a side dish.