Roasted Butternut Squash and Halloumi Jumble

Now this is another Hello Fresh recipe. I just changed a few things to accommodate veg I already had. The recipe calls for half a butternut squash - well I had frozen half a butternut squash cut into small chunks with the skin still on along with half a harlequin squash also. I decided to whack this in instead - more squash equals more yumminess! The only thing I would change in the future would be to defrost the squash first and using a paper towel remove excess fluid. I just shoved it straight in and the squash ended up steaming due to the water from the ice instead of roasting. Still tasty but just not the right texture. I also shoved in some spring onion to use it up also.

Now this recipe has all the warm autumn flavors from the squash with the decadant saltiness from the halloumi. It has become one of my favourite bowls of goodness. This makes enough for two folk.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Butternut squash
• Red pepper
• 1.5 tsp Smoked Paprika
• 150ml Water
• 1/2 veg stock
• 75g Bulgar Wheat
• 25g Pine Nuts
• 1 block Halloumi
• 1 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
• 1 bag of Rocket (James isn't a big fan so in the future I will use about half a bag or perhaps none at all)

Method:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 210 degrees. Chop the butternut squash to about 1cm cubes, you can leave the skin on. Cut the core of the red pepper and cut a third of it into cubes as small as you can. Cut the remainder into about 2cm chunks.
2. Toss your squash and your large chunks of pepper in a little oil, the smoked paprika, a pinch of salt and pepper. Lay out on a baking tray and put on your top shelf for 25 mins.
3. Bring the 150ml water to boil with the stock pot. Pour in the bulgur wheat, place a lid on and rest off the heat for 25mins, or until the water has completely soaked into the wheat.
4. Toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan over a medium heat. Keep an eye on them so they don't burn. Keep to the side once ready.
5. Cut the halloumi into 1cm thick slices. Rub a little olive oil on each slice and put your frying pan to medium-high heat, Cook each side for 2-3mins until golden brown.
6. Toss your bulgur wheat, roasted squash and pepper in a bowl. Add the red wine vinegar and a drizzle of olive oil. Lastly, gently stir through the rocket and season with a pinch of pepper.
7. Divide between two bowls. Top with the halloumi and pine nuts. Enjoy!

Today I visited Richmond Park for the first time. I had arranged to meet a friend at the park. Unfortunately neither of us had visited before and we ended up at completely opposite gates from one another. It took over an hour and a half to find one another! It is such a beautiful park and I will have to visit again. I feel like I spent so much effort looking for my friend I didn't appreciate its beauty fully. I quickly came across lots of deer just chilling out on the plane.

Spectacular! Apparently next week there will be a humane cull of the deer in order to keep population sizes down to reduce the spread of disease and parasites and ensure there is sufficient resources to support the herd. It saddens me this has to be done but I understand why it would be detrimental to allow them to grow exponentially.