After Christmas, exams, and the month long slog that is January, getting back into a good routine can be difficult. So here’s a lovely, fun recipe to help you get back into the swing of things, whilst also keeping you in tip-top health to fight freshers’ flu 2.0. This dish can be cooked for your flatmates, your special someone, or just to sort yourself for a couple of weekday meals.
It’s a butternut squash and chorizo orzo. It’s creamy, filling, and hopefully something that you haven’t tried before. There’s lots of vibrant colour and space to play around with a bit. If you succeeded in Veganuary and intend to carry it on, then just exclude the chorizo and substitute the cheeses for vegan alternatives.
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 Large butternut squash
Olive Oil
75 g Chorizo
1 Clove of garlic
1 Vegetable stock cube
Basil leaves
Parmesan
Goat’s cheese
Salt and pepper
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C / 180°C fan.
- Peel your butternut squash and cut it into small chunks, about 1 cm in width. Scatter the squash over a baking tray or oven-proof dish. Drizzle them in olive oil and season generously with salt and black pepper. Place in the oven for about 30 minutes until the squash has softened.
- Whilst the squash is in the oven, roughly chop the chorizo into small chunks and finely chop a clove of garlic.
- Once the squash has been in the oven for about 25 minutes, place the chorizo and garlic into a large deep frying pan. Leave it on a medium-low heat to fry off.
- When the squash has softened, place about 3/4 of the squash into a blender and the rest back into the oven to finish cooking. Blitz up the squash with about 500 mL of water and a stock cube into a smooth purée.
- Add the squash puree into the pan with the chorizo and softened garlic. Add the orzo and turn up the heat a bit. Stir the orzo through until it’s plump and creamy like a risotto. Continually top up the mixture with a bit of water until the orzo is cooked (about 10 minutes).
- Take the rest of the caramelised squash out of the oven, it should be nice and soft with small amounts of charring round the edges. Add the squash and some chopped basil to the frying pan. Be sure to taste the orzo, seasoning to taste.
- Serve the orzo with some grated Parmesan and dollops of goats cheese crumbled over the top, with a few whole basil leaves to give it that Instagram ready look. Enjoy!
Tips
Don’t worry about the squash getting charred round the edges. It’s a durable vegetable and a bit of charring can add a nice smoky contrast.
Be sure to taste throughout to check when the orzo is done, adding additional salt and black pepper where required.
