Baked Squash and Couscous

Having had couscous as a topping for various dishes in restaurants, I decided to give it a go as a topping for a butternut squash. The couscous crisps up very nicely in the oven, gaining a stronger flavour as it does.
 

Ingredients:

• 1 butternut squash, cut in half, seeds scooped out with a teaspoon
• 1 leek, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 6 sun-dried tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 120g cous cous
• 1 stock cube, crumbled
• 300ml boiling water
• 30g grated cheese, I used spicy cheddar but you can use your personal favourite

 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
2. Place the squash halves into a large ovenproof dish and roast in the oven for 30 minutes, turning over halfway through.
3. Fry the leek in the olive oil over a medium heat until it has softened.
4. Add the tomatoes, cous cous, stock cube and boiling water to the leeks and stir well.
5. Turn the heat down low and bring the cous cous and vegetable mixture to a simmer.
6. Stir the cous cous frequently until it has absorbed all the water.
7. Add the cheese to the cous cous and stir it in.
8. Remove the squashes from the oven and top with the cous cous. You'll probably end up having some cous cous in the sides of the dish as well.
9. Cover the dish with foil and bake for another 15 minutes.
10. Remove the foil and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the cous cous is nice and toasty on the top.
11. Cut into pieces with a sharp knife and serve. It's ok, and recommended, to eat the skin of the butternut squash; the slow roasting will have made it very soft.

 
Serves 3 to 4.