Harlequin squash twirls

I wanted to make a squash dish that could potentially be served at Christmas. I planned this recipe in my head and even made some notes on my way home from work on the train. I could definitely see these squash twirls on the Christmas table and would gladly eat them. I got inspiration for this dish from several twirl recipes I guess, but I still don't think that I have seen anything exactly like this. I was first planning a squash Wellington, but these seemed like more fun. The Wellingtons can always come next year.

In these twirls I really loved the sage and cumin flavours coming through with the sweetness of the squash. Other squash types can also be used for this recipe, I just wanted to use my harlequin now. So here's the recipe.

Ingredients

1 harlequin squash

2 tsp vegetable oil

Salt to taste

Ground black pepper to taste

1 tsp cumin seeds

80 g spinach

3 garlic cloves

Handful of fresh sage leaves

25 g butter

100 g grated Cheddar

Handful of toasted pine nuts

320 g puff pastry

1 egg

Method

Cut the squash into cubes and remove the seeds. Brush the cubes with vegetable oil and roast in the oven until done. Mash the cubes, season with salt and pepper and let cool.

Chop the garlic finely and cook in oil until done. Add the spinach to the pan and wilt. Remove any excess liquid and let cool.

Prepare the brown sage butter by cooking the sage leaves in butter until they are crispy. Simmer them only at low/medium heat so that the butter doesn't burn. The butter should turn brown by the end of this. Mix the sage butter into the squash mash.

Roll out the puff pastry into a rectangle shape, or be lazy like I am and buy it readily rolled out in that shape.

Spread the squash mash onto the puff pastry, followed by the spinach, cheese and pine nuts. Roll it up into a roulade and cut slices from it. You can decide the thickness yourself.

Place the slices cut side down on a baking tray, beat the egg and brush the twirls with it. Bake them at 200C for about 25-30 minutes.

You can enjoy these twirls either cold or warm. Actually they might have been even a little bit better cold.

Have a good weekend!

Your VegHog