Remove the bacon to make this a vegetarian feast!   

Serves 4 

Ingredients  

For the roast butternut

1 large butternut
¼ cup olive oil
Salt and milled pepper
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
¼ cup honey, warmed
8 sage leaves
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced 

For the crispy quinoa

½ cup uncooked red & white quinoa, rinsed
1 cup water
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp oil
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp Cape Malay curry powder 

For the walnut crumb

30g walnuts, chopped
10g sage leaves
4 slices streaky bacon, cooked
2 discs feta, crumbled 

Method  

1. Preheat oven to 200ºC.
2. Slicing lengthways, halve butternut evenly. Use a spoon to scoop out the fibrous pulp and seeds.
3. Peel away the skin to expose the bright orange underneath.
4. Line a tray with baking paper, and arrange the butternut halves on top, sliced side facing down.
5. Stir together olive oil, seasonings and honey. Brush mixture over butternut.
6. Roast for 20 minutes until slightly softened, remove.
7. Using a sharp knife, slice into the butternut widthways, making sure not to slice through completely with each cut, keeping the cuts as close together as possible.
8. Brush butternut with seasoning again, push sage leaves and garlic slices into a few of the slits.
9. Roast for another 40 minutes, or until tender, basting halfway through cooking.
10. For the quinoa, place grain, water and salt in a pot. Cook until all the water has been absorbed and the quinoa is fluffy. 
11. Add the butter, oil and seasonings to the quinoa, then toss to coat evenly. 
12. Decant quinoa onto a lined baking tray and spread out evenly.
13. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes, remove and stir before roasting for another 5 minutes, or until crisp.
14. Toast walnuts in a dry pan for 2-3 minutes, stirring to prevent burning.
15. For the crispy sage, add 2 Tbsp oil to a small pan and heat until very hot. Toss the leaves into the oil and fry for 10 seconds (careful, they will spatter), remove using a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
16. Finely chop sage and bacon together. Add to a bowl with the crumbled feta and walnuts.
17. Spoon quinoa onto a serving plate and top with roasted butternut halves.
18. Finish butternut with walnut crumb and serve.

Cook’s note  

Roasting the butternut halves for 20 minutes will make it much easier to slice into instead of struggling to cut into it while raw. 

Recipe & styling: Sjaan van der Ploeg  

Photography: Zhann Solomons