Stuffed Butternut Squash with Wild Rice & Feta

Ingredients

• 150 g feta cheese, crumbled
• 200 g wild rice blend, cooked per packet
• 2 medium butternut squashes, halved lengthways, seeds scooped
• 1 red onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 handful dried cranberries
• 50 g pine nuts, toasted
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 15g flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• Warm pitta bread, to serve
• Chopped salad, to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°C/fan 180°C. Brush the squash halves all over with 2 tbsp olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Place cut-side down on a large roasting tray.
2. Roast for 40 minutes, until the flesh gives easily when pierced with a knife and the skin has started to wrinkle.
3. Meanwhile, cook the wild rice blend per packet instructions and drain. Heat the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat and soften the red onion and garlic for about 5 minutes, until translucent and fragrant.
4. Add the cinnamon and cumin and cook for 1 minute, until the spices smell warm and toasted. Stir in the cooked rice, dried cranberries, toasted pine nuts, lemon zest, lemon juice and half the parsley. Season well and taste.
5. Flip the squash halves cut-side up. Press the flesh down gently with the back of a spoon to make a deeper cavity, then fill each half generously with the rice stuffing, mounding it up.
6. Return to the oven for 10 minutes, until everything is piping hot and the edges of the rice are crisping.
7. Scatter over the crumbled feta and the remaining parsley. Drizzle with tahini, finish with torn mint, and serve with lemon wedges on the side.