Butternut Squash Squares

Oh my gosh, this recipe was a complete accident. One of those total accidental foods that you don't expect to amount to anything but the way it turned out means this will be a weekly thing for me now.

I had a butternut squash to use up (does anyone else hate cutting them?! The skin is so tough..), and decided to roast it so I could chuck it in the oven and forget about it, and have it with something for tea that evening.

Now, I'm trying to go more plant based / veggie 80% of the time (more on this later, I'm sure), so I knew I wanted to try and spice this up a bit more to make it more of a 'main event' in a meal.

The flavours, the texture - this is a winner, and I think you'll love it.

You'll need:

• 1 large butternut squash, de-skinned and chopped into cubes
• 3 or 4 tablespoons of tahini (I used Meridian)
• 3 tablespoons smoked paprika
• Olive oil to drizzle
• Sea salt 

This makes about four portions, so alter if you want to make more.

Chop your butternut squash into cubes, removing all of the skin. It's a bit of a chore to chop, and be careful as it can be a bit slippy sometimes with a knife (or you could buy the pre-chopped stuff). I really hate the stringy bits (they literally freak me out so much), but don't let me stop you adding these if you want to.

Place on a baking tray, and drizzle with olive oil, mixing the cubes until they're covered. Then add your paprika - I love a bit of spice so went for three generous tablespoons but you can adapt to your preferences... also I used smoked paprika because I like the taste but normal paprika is fine.

Next, sprinkle sea salt over the cubes and mix everything so that all your cubes are covered. Then, drizzle 3 or 4 tablespoons of tahini over and mix again, ensuring all of the squares are coated.

Roast in the oven for 40/45 mins at 180 degrees until they're crisp, golden and fluffy inside.

Enjoy!!