Fancy a warming autumn dish? Stew is an ideal dish, and the slow braising will fill your house with a delicious aroma. The sweetness of butternut squash complements the rich flavour of the stew. The presentation looks amazing and it’s an ideal way to get your daily portion of nourishing vegetables.
Pat the meat dry with kitchen paper. Cut into 3 cm cubes and sprinkle the meat with flour and salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a casserole. Fry the meat on a high heat in about 5 minutes until brown on all sides.
Finely chop the garlic. Add to the casserole with the tomato purée and the bay leaves. Add 500 ml of water. You may have to add some more to make sure the meat is covered. Add the stock cube and bring the liquid to the boil. Once the stew starts to boil, turn down the heat as low as possible. Place the lid on the casserole and simmer for approx. 2 hours or until the meat is soft and tender.
Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Halve the butternut squash lengthwise and remove the seeds with a spoon. Cook the squash in boiling water for about 25 minutes until tender.
In the meanwhile, finely chop the onion. Halve the sweet peppers, remove the seeds and slice the flesh into pieces.
Leave the squash to cool for 10 minutes. Scoop some of the flesh out of the squash with a spoon. Leave some flesh in the skin for stability. Mash the flesh and season with salt and pepper.
Heat the rest of the olive oil in a large pan. Fry the onion and garlic on a medium heat for about 3 minutes until they soften. Add the sweet peppers and fry for 2 minutes. Add the frozen peas and fry for 1 minute. Add to stew and simmer on a low heat for another 15 minutes. Season with pepper.
Heat the pumpkin mash in a saucepan for 3 minutes. Spoon the stew into the hollowed-out squash and serve with the pumpkin mash.
