Spiced autumnal squash

Cosy up with kuri squash for this nutty, flavourful dish to spice up the season. Straight from the kitchen of Apricity in Mayfair, the chef herself has sent us options for plating over lentils or popping in even more vibrant flavour with zhoug and Bombay mix.

Chantelle Nicholson is a truly inspiring figure in the food world. As a winner of the Michelin Star Green Award with her previous restaurant, Tredwells, through to her current zero-waste restaurant, Apricity, she is telling an important story around food production and efficiency.

This is why we are so excited to have them using our EVOO on the menu! And when we saw this particular dish come across our feed, we just had to reach out to their talented Head Chef Eve Seemann to get a breakdown of all this autumnal deliciousness.

Here are the ingredients you'll need:

Serves 2

• 1 kuri squash
• 2 tbsp table salt
• 2 tbsp brown sugar (muscovado if you have it)
• 1 tbsp ground fennel seeds
• 2 tbsp mustard powder
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp smoked paprika
• 50 grams of plant-based butter
• Citizens of Soil extra virgin olive oil
• Salt to taste

Here's the method:

• Peel and seed one squash and cut into nice chunky wedges.
• Mix all of the other ingredients here together. Bind with the butter and spread by massaging thoroughly onto the wedges.
• Place on a roasting tray and pop in the oven for 15 minutes at 190C. Check that they are nice and cooked all the way through before taking them out. They should be golden, a little crispy around the edges, and soft in the middle.
• Apricity serves the wedges over simply cooked lentils, which you can make more delicious by cooking them in any vegetable stock you have on hand. 

Ways to jazz it up:

• Adding some fresh Zhoug (herby Middle Eastern sauce) makes the whole dish sing! Recipe below.
• To add another layer of texture and taste to your meal, you can top everything with some Bombay Mix. Loud satisfying crunch guaranteed!
• If you would like to follow Chantelle’s zero-waste approach you can toast the skins and seeds of the squash rather then throw them away. Serve them with your wedges or simply store as a snack!

Cheeky EXTRA recipe—Fresh Zhoug:

You can make it by blending the ingredients below until you reach a pesto-like consistency.

• 1/2 bunch of coriander, 1/2 bunch of parsley
• 1 green chilli, roughly chopped
• ½ teaspoon toasted cumin seeds
• 2 cardamom pod, seeds only
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 15 grams of Citizens of Soil extra virgin olive oil
• 10 grams of water
• Salt to taste

Are you making this? Share with your fellow citizens. Tag us in your photos on Instagram at @CitizensofSoil.