This yummy, versatile winter fruit will make your Monday taste a whole lot better! (Recipe from ‘Grandma’s Best Recipes’.)

Roast Butternut Squash - serves 4

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash, about 450g/1lb

1 onion, chopped

2-3 garlic cloves, crushed

4 small tomatoes, chopped

85g/3oz chestnut mushrooms, chopped

85g/3 oz canned butter beans, drained, rinsed and roughly chopped

1 courgette, about 115g/4 oz, trimmed and grated

1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano, plus extra to garnish

2 tbsp tomato purée

300ml/10 fl oz water

4 spring onions, trimmed and chopped

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, or to taste

pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5. Prick the squash all over with a metal skewer then roast for 40 minutes, or until tender. Remove from the oven and leave to rest until cool enough to handle. 

2. Cut the squash in half, scoop out and discard the seeds, then scoop out some of the flesh, making hollows in both halves. Chop the scooped-out flesh and put in a bowl. Place the two squash halves side by side in a large roasting tin. 

3. Add the onion, garlic, tomatoes and mushrooms to the squash flesh in the bowl. Add the butter beans, courgette, oregano, and pepper to taste and mix well. Spoon the filling into the two halves of the squash, packing it down as firmly as possible. 

4. Mix the tomato purée with the water, spring onions and Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl and pour around the squash. 

5. Cover loosely with a large sheet of foil and bake for 30 minutes, or until piping hot. Serve in warmed bowls, garnished with some chopped oregano.

Monday is here again and this is our suggestion for a warming start to the week: a delicious butternut squash stir fry. 

Butternut Squash Stir Fry, serves 4

Ingredients:

1 kg/2 lb 4oz butternut squash, peeled
3 tbsp peanut oil
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
150 ml/5 fl oz coconut milk
100 ml/3.5 fl oz water
100g/3.5 oz salted cashew nuts
Freshly grated lime rind, fresh coriander and lime slices to garnish

1. Slice the squash into small, bite-sized cubes, using a sharp knife. 
2. Heat the groundnut oil in a large, preheated wok. 
3. Add the butternut squash, the onion and the garlic to the wok and stir-fry for 5 minutes.
4. Stir in the coriander seeds, cumin seeds and fresh chopped coriander, and stir-fry for 1 minute. 
5. Add the coconut mil and water to the wok and bring to the boil. Cover the wok and leave to simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the squash is tender.
6. Add the cashew nuts and stir to combine thoroughly.
7. Transfer to warmed serving dishes and garnish with the lime rind, the coriander and the lime slices. Serve immediately.