Hasselback Butternut Squash

By chef Eunice Power

Ingredients

1 Medium butternut squash, about 1.2Kg, peeled and halved lengthways

3 tbsp olive oil

1 × 400g tin chickpeas, drained

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds

250–300g Irish Yogurts Clonakilty Greek Style Natural Live Yogurt

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp pomegranate molasses

Handful Bombay mix, to garnish

Handful pomegranate seeds, to garnish

For the coriander chutney

100g coriander, leaves and stalks

25g mint, leaves picked

1–2 green chillies

2 garlic cloves

2cm piece fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated

2 tbsp lemon juice

½ tsp sugar

½ tsp fine salt

5 tbsp water, plus a little extra if needed

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment.
Put one squash half on a chopping board, cut-side down. Place a chopstick on either side of the squash to prevent your knife from cutting all the way through. Using a large, sharp knife, make cuts widthways at roughly 5mm intervals along the squash. Repeat with the other half. Rub the squash with 2 tbsp of the olive oil, season with fine salt and roast for about 40 minutes, or until tender.
In a dry pan toast the coriander seeds and cumin seeds and grind with a pestal and mortar.
Meanwhile, on another baking tray, toss the chickpeas with the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil, the cumin and coriander. Roast alongside the squash for about 30 minutes, shaking the tray halfway through, until the chickpeas are crisp.
Mix the yogurt and honey together with a pinch of fine salt and set aside.
For the coriander chutney, blitz the coriander (reserving a few leaves for garnish), mint, green chilli, garlic, ginger, lemon juice, sugar and salt with 5 tbsp water in a food processor or blender until smooth. Add a little extra water if needed to loosen it.
To serve, spread the honeyed yogurt over a large serving platter. Place the roasted squash in the centre and scatter the crispy chickpeas over and around it. Drizzle with the pomegranate molasses and coriander chutney.
Finish with the Bombay mix, pomegranate seeds and reserved coriander leaves.