This recipe was such a hit at the IKEA pop-up earlier this week, and as I’ve been asked numerous times to share all the recipes I made at the demo, so here’s the first! It’s a little bit fiddly, but I think it’s great fun to try something different and imaginative with food sometimes! Especially as it’s getting a bit colder now and the pumpkins and squashes are coming back.
I love a good butternut squash, not as a pasta replacement or anything like that, but just as a delicious flavour on its own! This veggie stack consists of layers of butternut squash, aubergine, and courgette, with a tomato sauce and plenty of cheese which just oozes out deliciously!
Makes: 4 stacks
Ingredients:
- 1 small butternut squash (you only need the top half)
- 1 small aubergine
- 1 courgette
- 1 jar passata (400g)
- 1 basil plant/dried basil
- 1 small white/brown onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- 1 mozzarella balls
- Grated parmesan
What to do:
- Preheat the oven to 200°C
- Peel the butternut squash and chop off the stem
- Cut 8 slices no more than 1cm thick and place them on a lined baking tray
- Do the same with the aubergine: cut the stem off and cut 8 round slices
- Cut 24 slices of the courgette (6 per stack)
- Place all these on a baking tray (or two) with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling with salt and pepper
- Place in the oven for around 20-30 mins, depending on thickness
- In the meantime, make the tomato sauce by finely chopping a small onion and frying in a little olive oil in a pot on medium heat
- Crush the garlic and add it to the onion after a few minutes
- Add the passata and cook down gently until the sauce is nice and thick
- Season with salt, pepper, and basil to taste
- Chop the mozzarella ball first in half, then slice into quite thin slices
- Once the veggies and sauce are ready it’s time to assemble: first the largest piece of butternut squash at the bottom, a layer of tomato sauce, mozzarella, a sprinkling of Parmesan, a layer of aubergine (a bigger piece again), 3 pieces of courgette in a triangle, then another layer of sauce and cheese. Repeat this whole sequence on top, starting with a second smaller piece of butternut squash, finishing up with a decent helping of Parmesan on top. By using the larger pieces of veggies at the bottom and the smaller pieces at the top, it helps keep the stack relatively stable.
- Place the stacks in the oven for a few minutes, or under the grill to brown the top slightly
- Garnish with fresh basil and serve immediately