Butternut Squash / Pumpkin and mustard sauce

Comforting, quick and easy and gives a perky warmth from the mustard. This recipe also goes well with Pork Belly or a sprinkling of Pancetta.

Serves 4
• Squash varieties or pumpkin skin on (approx. 2kg)
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 950ml hot chicken or vegetable stock
• 200ml plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 heaped tablespoon grain mustard
• 1 heaped tablespoon smooth Dijon mustard
• Salt and pepper
• Knob of butter right at the end

Cut up the squash or pumpkin into wedges. Remove and discard the seeds and fibres.

Warm the olive oil in a large, deep-sided roasting pan over moderate heat. Lightly brown both cut sides of each wedge of pumpkin, turning them over as each one colours using kitchen tongs.

Set the oven to 200c fan. Lay the wedges of pumpkin on their side in a roasting pan, then pour in the hot chicken or vegetable stock and seal the roasting pan with foil.

Bake for 45 minutes, then remove the foil, turn the pieces of pumpkin over, and baste them thoroughly with the stock. Return to the oven and continue cooking for another 45 minutes. The pumpkin should be translucent, each slice heavy with stock.

Carefully lift the pumpkin from the stock and set aside on a warm serving dish. Place the stock over a fierce heat and let it reduce. Let it cool a little before pouring in the cream, then stir in the two mustards, a little at a time, until you have a warmth you like. Season with salt and black pepper.

Spoon the mustard sauce on the slices of pumpkin and serve either with a hunk of roasted meat or simply scooped into a bowl, preferably when you’re dressed in flannel p.j.’s, with a big spoon in your hand.

And don’t forget a wedge of crusty bread alongside to mop up all that lovely sauce.

This recipe has been adapted from Nigel Slater