With its beautiful colours and deliciously varied textures, this is a lovely ‘layered’ dish of contrasting ingredients. It’s a real looker too – ideally served on a big platter in the middle of the table as a starter or component of a main meal.
Serves 4
800g–1kg squash, such as Crown Prince, butternut or kabocha
3–4 garlic cloves (unpeeled), lightly bashed
Several sprigs of thyme (optional)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive or rapeseed oil, plus extra to serve
100g ricotta
30–40g thinly sliced Parma ham or other air-dried ham
A squeeze of lemon juice
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 190oC/Gas 5. Peel and deseed the squash, then cut into big chunks. Put into a roasting dish with the garlic, and a few thyme sprigs, if using. Trickle over the 2 tablespoons extra virgin oil, sprinkle with some salt and pepper and toss to ensure the squash is well coated. Roast for 40–50 minutes, or until the squash is tender and starting to caramelise, giving it a stir halfway through cooking. Discard the garlic and thyme, if used. Leave to cool completely.
Put the roasted squash on individual plates or a large platter. Dot the ricotta over the top. Tear the ham into shreds and scatter these over the squash and ricotta. Tear the leaves from the rest of the thyme sprigs, if you have them, and scatter over the dish. Add a grinding of black pepper, a little sprinkle of salt and a generous trickle of extra virgin oil. Finish with a judicious squeeze of lemon juice, then serve.
PLUS ONE This combination looks and tastes wonderful when served on a bed of baby salad leaves, or scattered with a handful of micro-salad, such as cress.
SWAPS You don’t have to use air-dried ham here: any good, thinly sliced ham tastes pretty good, as does cooled, crisp-cooked bacon. For a really quick, very different dish, replace the roasted squash with slices of ripe, juicy pear.