GEM SQUASH WITH GREEK MINCE FILLING
Ingredients
Squash, cut in half (remove the seeds if preferred) - 3 gem
Butter - 6 teaspoons
Olive oil - 1 tablespoon
Medium onion, chopped - ¼
Red pepper, chopped - ¼
Beef or lamb mince - 125 g
Paprika - 1 teaspoon
Ground coriander - ½ teaspoon
Ground cinnamon - ⅛ teaspoon
Chopped fresh rosemary (or ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary) - ½ teaspoon
Coarsely grated baby marrows (courgettes/zucchini) - 1 cup
Crushed garlic - 1 teaspoon
Crumbled Feta cheese (plain) - ¼ cup
Milled black pepper or white pepper to taste -
Salt to taste -
Sprigs of rosemary to garnish (optional) -
Method
1.Boil the gem squash. Drain well and place the 6 halves (cut side facing up) on a baking tray. Place a teaspoon of butter in each half. Set aside.
2.Prepare the filling: Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan or wok. Sauté the onion and red pepper for a few minutes. Add the mince, paprika, coriander, cinnamon and rosemary. Stir-fry until just cooked. Add the grated baby marrows (courgettes/zucchini) and garlic. Stir-fry for 2 − 3 minutes over medium high heat until the baby marrow is just cooked. Remove from the heat. Stir in the Feta cheese. The Feta should not melt completely − pieces of Feta should still be visible. Season with pepper. Taste and add salt if necessary (the Feta cheese is salty, so you might not need to add any salt).
3.Preheat the grill to medium hot. Spoon the mince mixture into the squash halves. Pop under the grill until heated through. Watch closely as the mince might burn quickly. If it happens, turn the grill setting down and/or move the baking tray to a lower oven rack. Alternatively, you could bake the gems in a preheated oven at 180ºC until just heated through. Take care not to overbake.
4.Garnish the gem squash with rosemary sprigs and serve with stir-fried green beans, a crisp garden salad and black olives.
