insideKENT Magazine Issue 70 - January 2018 | Page 68

FOOD+DRINK
DITCH THE DIET Recipes cont.
Quinoa and Jujube Stuffed Butternut Squash (2)
Packed with flavonoids, phenols and antioxidants, the fresh jujube fruit has 20 times more vitamin C than citrus fruits. It is also dense in manganese
and iron, and boasts 18 out of the 24 important amino acids which are essential to the formation of more than 50,000 proteins found in the human
body. Jujube recipes from Abakus Foods; jujube products available at www.abakusfoods.com/collections/jujube.
Ingredients: Method:
• The bottom half of a large
butternut squash
• 1 red onion
• 1 large garlic clove
• 1/2 vegetable stock cube
• 2 large white mushrooms
(or 4 smaller ones)
• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
• Handful of jujube fruits
• Handful frozen peas
• Black pepper to taste
• Dried mixed herbs 1. Preheat your oven to 190°C and slice your squash
in half lengthways. Scoop out the seeds and place
both halves onto a baking tray.
For the dressing:
• 1tbsp tamari sauce
• 1tbsp tahini
• 1tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 small garlic clove, crushed
• Water
• 1/2-1tbsp agave (optional)
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2. Bake this in the oven for 50-60 minutes until really
tender and caramelised.
3. To cook your quinoa, place it into a saucepan and
cover with 230ml water. Br ing this to the boil, then
reduce the heat to a simmer. Crumble in your stock
cube and allow to cook until nearly all of the water
has been absorbed. Avoid over stirring as this might
make it too stodgy. Once the quinoa is cooked
through, use a fork to fluff it up, then set aside.
4. While this is cooking, finely dice the onion and
crush the garlic clove. Heat a little oil in a frying pan
and sauté both of these until caramelised and fragrant.
Finely dice your mushrooms and add these to the
pan, along with the frozen peas.
5. You can now add in the cooked quinoa and season
everything with a sprinkle of mixed herbs and black
pepper. Toss this together, so that all of the veggies
are fully incorporated into the quinoa. To finish of
the quinoa, finely chop the dried jujube fruit into
small pieces and stir this through the mixture. Allow
everything to cook for a few more minutes.
6. Once your squash is ready, fill each of the centres
with some of your quinoa mixture and put them back
into the oven for an extra 5 minutes to crisp.
7. To make the dressing, simply combine the tahini,
lemon juice, tamari sauce, agave (if using) and garlic
and mix well. Gradually drizzle in water, stirring
continuously, until you’re left with a nice pourable
consistency.
8. Serve the squash topped with some pomegranate
seeds, extra chopped jujube fruit and a drizzle of your
tahini dressing.