Roasted butternut with balsamic sauce

- 1 butternut squash

- 2 tbsp thyme and 6 bay leafs

- 2 tbsp of maple syrup

- 25 ml of balsamic vinegar

- 1 big crushed garlic clove

- squash seeds

- fresh parsley

- olive oil

- salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200 °C.

Wash butternut, dry and cut in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds and fibers inside each half.


Flip and cut each half into slices about 1 centimeter apart, without going to the end so that the slices remain attached.

 

 Put the two halves, face down on some baking paper with a decent cover of olive oil so that it will get crispy on all sides.

Pour a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper, thyme, and insert some bay leaves in the slits. 
 
Cover with some foil and whack in the oven for 1 hour.

While the squash is in the oven heat up the vinegar, maple syrup and crushed garlic clove until it just starts boiling then turn off.

After the hour of cooking the squash, remove the foil, pour on the balsmic mix, throw on some of the squash seeds and put back in the oven for 10-15 mins so it gets nice and crispy.

Take out, cut up some parsley, sprinkle on and serve!

Watercress and Sweet Potato Soup

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 Big sweet potato
1 small white sweet onion
1 bunch of watercress
2 sticks celery
2 garlic cloves
1/2 veggie stock cube
500ml water
Handful chilli flakes

Salt and Pepper

Instructions

1) Roast sweet potato in oven (180 deg 35 mins) until soft (wrap in foil while in oven)
2) whilst potato is roasting, dice onion and put in pot with sprinkling of olive oil, salt and pepper
3) cook and sweat onion for a few minutes
4) cut celery and garlic in small pieces and add with onion
5) stir for a few more minutes then add chilli flakes, mix 1 minute more and turn off

When potato done :

6) If potato is organic, cut into small pieces and whack it in with the onion, if not then just take the inside and mix with onion and celery mix
7) Boil 500ml of water
8) pour boiling water in with potato onion mix in pot and add the stock cube
9) Turn on heat and simmer for 30 minutes (add more water if necessary)
10) After the 30 minutes, add all the watercress in the pot saving a bit for garnish
11) Pulse it with a blender until smooth
12) Serve in bowl with fresh watercress as garnish
13) Salt and pepper to taste!

Perfect served with some good toasted rustic bread