Butternut & Chestnut Bake Recipe
Squash, chestnuts and juicy mushrooms make this delicious bake a seasonal treat. A vegan recipe (which also happens to be gluten free), it’s a great meat-free option for festive celebrations and family get-togethers. Enjoy with roast potatoes and all your favourite veg. Serves 4.
Method
Preheat your oven to 200°C (Gas Mark 6) and have a large baking dish to hand (about 1.8 litres). Place a large saucepan over a medium heat and add the olive oil. Let it warm up, then add the prepared onion and squash and cook for 10 mins, stirring every so often, until softened.
Next, add the garlic, mushrooms and rosemary and cook for five more minutes, so that the mushrooms soften, then put the chestnuts into the pan, breaking up any bigger ones into small pieces. Gently pour the cream into the pan, stir in, then cook for 2-3 minutes (stirring occasionally) until the cream bubbles. Take the pan off the heat, season to taste with salt and pepper and stir well, then carefully empty the pan into your baking dish. To make the topping, put the parsley, nuts and seeds into a food processor and pulse until roughly chopped – you want the nuts to be fairly chunky, rather than powdery.
Scatter the nut mixture over the top of the veg in the baking dish, then put the dish into the hot oven and bake for about 15 minutes until the topping is golden and the whole dish is piping hot throughout. Serve straight away.
