Butternut Squash Kutta

1 large red onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp lazy ginger
1 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp olive oil
500g butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and diced
1 tin tomatoes
handful sultanas
2 celery stalks, chopped
handful celery leaves
1 tbsp lemon juice
handful coriander leaves
55g whole almonds
1 tbsp sugar

Saute the onion, garlic, ginger and turmeric in the oil for 3 - 4 minutes.

Add the butternut squash, tomatoes, sultanas, celery, celery leaves and 400ml water. Bring to the boil then simmer for 20 - 25 minutes.

Add the lemon juice, corander, almonds and sugar, cook for 5 more minutes, serve.

Serves 4.

Butternut Squash Soup

1 butternut squash, diced

2 onions, quartered

5 cloves garlic

250g cherry tomatoes

olive oil

honey

rosemary

1 litre vegetable stock

Toss the squash, onions, garlic and tomatoes in the olive oil and honey and roast for 25 minutes in a hot oven with the rosemary.

Blend, adding the stock until it reaches the desired consistency. Season, heat through and serve.

Serves 4.

Pumpkin and Lentil Tagine

275g brown lentils
3 tomatoes, chopped
500 - 600g pumpkin/butternut squash, cubed
4 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp paprika
3 tbsp tomato puree
1/2 tsp sugar

Cook the lentils in water for 20 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Cook the onion in the oil until soft. Add the garlic for a few seconds, then the cumin, turmeric, pepper and paprika, cook for about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, tomato puree and sugar. Stir.

Add the lentils and squash, together with a little water. Stir well, cover and cook for 20 minutes.

Serve.

Serves 4.

It turned out less spicy than I was expecting, and maybe needs to be jazzed up a bit if I try it again.

Veggie Lasagne

1/2 large butternut squash (about 600g), peeled and diced
1/2 red pepper, cut into strips
1/2 yellow pepper, cut into strips
2 small courgettes, trimmed and thickly sliced
1 red onion, roughly sliced
1/2 aubergine, cut into 2cm cubes
125g cherry tomatoes
rosemary
1 garlic clove, crushed
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 x tins chopped tomatoes
250g pack fresh lasagne sheets (6 sheets)
2 tbsp olive oil spread
2 tbsp cornflour
600ml skimmed milk
60g grated mature cheddar

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200C.
2. Place all the veg, rosemary and garlic in a large roasting tin, toss with the olive oil and roast for 30 minutes.
3. Make the cheese sauce by whisking the spread, cornflour and milk together over a medium heat until thickened, then adding the cheese.
4. Stir the tomatoes into the vegetables once they are cooked.
5. Make up the lasagne - layer of lasagne, 1/3 veg, 1/3 cheese sauce, lasagne, 1/3 veg, 1/3 sauce, lasagne, 1/3 veg, 1/3 cheese sauce (I prefer to save a bit more of the sauce for the top, using less on the lower layers)
6. Bake for 40 - 45 minutes.

I was tempted to put some more grated cheese on the top but resisted. The sauce isn't the cheesiest I've tasted, but the veg mix is lovely.

Serves 4 (farily generous portions, but apparently still only 339 calories each).

Warm pumpkin, beetroot and alfafa salad

75g brown rice
3 beetroot
400g butternut squash
1.5 tbsp olive oil
1tsp cumin seeds
4 garlic cloves
1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
50g alfafa sprouts
spinach

Heat the oven to 200c. Wrap the beetroot loosely with foil and roast for 45 minutes. At some point cook the rice and set it aside.

Peel the squash and scrape out the seeds. Cut it into chunks and put on a baking tray. Sprinkle with 1/2 tbsp oil and the cumin seeds, add the garlic and roast with the beetroot for 30 minutes.

Remove the veg, peel and chop the beetroot. Peel the garlic cloves. Mash one of them with the rest of the olive oil and red wine vinegar to make a dressing and season.

Put the rice, roast veg and remaining garlic cloves in a big bowl and mix together. Add the alfafa sprouts and stir in. Serve on a bed of baby spinach leaves. (The leaves from the beetroot would have been better, but mine didn't come with any).

Serves 2

Pumpkin and Parsnip Cassoulet

2 tbsp olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
500g pumpkin, deseeded, peeled and diced (I used carnival squash because that's what Tesco had, and a whole one, which was more than 500g but I threw it all in)
500g parsnips, diced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 x 425g cans mixed beans, drained
780g can tomatoes (have to admit I've never seen a can that big so I used two normal size ones)
225ml red wine
300ml vegetable stock
2 large sprigs fresh thyme (I used dried)
1 tbsp sugar
75g fresh breadcrumbs
25g parmesan, grated

1. Heat oven to 180c. Heat the oil in a large pan or wok, addonions, then fry for 5 minutes until golden. Add pumpkin, parsnips and garlic and cook for a further 3 minutes. Stir in beans, tomatoes, wine, stock, thyme, sugar and plenty of seasoning. Bring to the boil, then transfer to a large casserole dish, pressing the beans and vegetables beneath the liquid (I actually did everything in the same pan, I've got a casseroley thing that's also OK on the hob).

2. Sprinkle the top with breadcrumbs and grated cheese. Cover, then cook for 40 minutes. Uncover, stir well (not sure how you do this without disturbing the topping?) and cook for a further 40 minutes.

Nutrition info - serves 6, per serving 368 cal, 16g protein, 53g carbs, 9g fat, 2g saturated fat, 14g fibre, 3g sugar, 2.16g salt.