Baked spaghetti squash topped with cavolo nero pesto

INGREDIENTS

4 spaghetti squash

4 tbsp olive oil

Sea salt

For the pesto:

160g cavolo nero leaves

85g pine nuts

85g parmesan cheese, grated

10 tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, puréed

2 pinches sea salt

Black pepper

METHOD

● Pre-heat the oven to 200°C. Halve the squash and scoop out the seeds. Drizzle ½ tbsp olive oil over each squash and season with salt.

● Place the squash on a silicon baking mat or baking parchment, cut side down and drizzle with the remaining oil.

● Bake in the oven for 30-60 minutes, check after 30 minutes (if it's big you'll need to bake for 60 minutes).

● While the squash is baking make the pesto. Cut the cavolo nero leaves away either side of the stems, and discard the stalks.

● Rinse the leaves and steam for 10 minutes, then leave to cool.

● Squeeze any excess moisture from the cooled leaves with your hands or wrapped in a clean tea towel. Discard the water.

● Blitz the cavolo nero, pine nuts, parmesan, 9 tbsp olive oil and garlic purée in a food processor. Stop occasionally to wipe down the sides. Season with sea salt and black pepper. The consistency should be coarse but well mixed. Add extra oil if you prefer it loose. Decant into a kilner jar and top with 1 tbsp olive oil.

● When the squash is cooked, turn over and pull a fork through the flesh of the squash, to create spaghetti strings. If I am serving a whole spaghetti squash as a main course, I scoop out one half of the squash and place into the remaining half and present it in the shell.

● Add 1-2 tbsp of cavolo nero pesto to the squash and mix it in with the spaghetti squash.

● If you are serving this as a side dish or starter for 8 people, scrape out all the spaghetti squash into a large mixing bowl or platter and add 8 tbsp cavolo nero pesto and serve with a delicious salad on the side.

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